The Rep Question

[Sierra]

There's been a lot of jaw-jacking about the rep system lately.

The veterans (myself included) remember when rep was used rather sparingly. It took Phantom, a prolific poster back then, a couple of years to get to 3000 rep, and now you can get there in a week. If you got rep for a post it meant someone really liked that post - enough to go to the trouble of repping. 1,000 rep was a big deal just six months ago, and when Sani reached 10,000 rep it was an astounding show of respect.

Now rep is used not only to show appreciation for a post, but also: appreciation for the person; to thank someone for repping you; to spread rep around so you can rep a particular person again, etc etc etc.

Rep totals are going up fast, partly because we rep each other so much now, and partly of it is because with such high numbers each rep gives more points. I don't get repped that much more often than I used to, but the results are more dramatic.

So I think it's time for this question to be asked.

Is the rep system broken?

I'll start.

I liked the way the rep system was used "back in the day" because getting rep really meant you did something noteworthy. Otherwise, rep wasn't something I thought about a lot. I honestly didn't give out more than four or five reps a week when I was on the board a lot - and sometimes would go weeks without giving it at all if I wasn't around as much.

It's different now, but I have to ask myself.... Is that a bad thing? The rep system has always been an integral part of RB. The fact that it is used differently now reflects a change in the culture of the board. Veterans like myself and few others might grumble about how it used to be, but in truth most of the people active now don't remember how it was and don't give a damn about "back in the day".

I have changed my thinking since this whole rep debate started. At first I hated the fact that rep was being used differently than it used to be. Now, I realize that any system like this is going to be used as the members currently active on the board see fit and I'm not sure there is any reason to mess with that.

There was talk in the Phantom Zone about bringing everyone's totals down and how that could be done fairly. I know that there are plans for adjusting the rep totals being discussed right now in the Executive Suite. This begs the questions of WHETHER rep totals should be adjusted and WHY. If someone gets 50,000 rep or 100,000 rep..... does that matter?

I think a discussion among the people who actually use the board, rather than just the people "at the top", would be a good thing.

How do you feel about this?

[snarkopo]

Good question Sierra. I kinda think rep should be 2 tiered. Rep people give for contributing to the board via content posts should count for more than those simply between members patting each other on the back.
Uploading and making available to others content we come here for is far more time intensive than making a good/funny remark to some thread that get's you rep points.

[FuckingRotter]

Sierra, in part I started the rep comments thread because in the short time I've been hereabouts I could see how it's not just used to show appreciation for a post, or perhaps for starting an interesting topic.

I wanted people to be able to highlight the rep comments that really showed appreciation, that recognised respect. It hasn't necessarily worked out that way, but that was my intention. I don't think the rep system is broken, it is the same for all of us. It has just evolved, and I'm sure my thread will soon be overun by a different rep appreciation station. Just the nature of how Internet sites develope as it's posters change I suppose.

I suppose the system could be fiddled with, just as everything gets fiddled with, but the site could end up like a nanny state with rules and mechanisms for everything that will baffle someone if they suddenly had to step up and run the place for whatever reason.

[z0di4c]

To be honest I don't care about the reputation numbers. On other boards I hardly give rep and I have no clue if I received it because I never look at it. On here it's a different ballgame. In fact it's this place that made me aware of a reputation system. We have the 'reputation comments' thread and every day we have a new milestone that gets celebrated. And that's all fine with me.

I never took rep seriously and I still don't. Only on this place I give it out more because it's almost as common as giving a reply to a post. Nothing more or less. Nowadays I use it to give some personal notes to a person because I had fun with him/her during my visit here. I hardly give rep because of the content of a post.

Same with receiving. I get more rep for posting in a game thread then I do for posting movies despite they demand more time and effort from me. So if you want to use the reputation stuff as a serious indication on your posts then it fails miserably on this forum. If you want to use it to have fun amongst friends on the board it's a success.

Why do we all have issues with something as trivial as this on a forum? Is it Internet-Ego? I see people post movies and end with 'I post more if I get replies' or something similar. Why? Don't you want to post? Then don't! I post on boards where I never get replies or perhaps once every 2 months from the same person. So what. I post because I think I have something to share that others like. Thank me, great. Thank me not but enjoy it anyway, great as well. I don't know you anyway. And it also doesn't change who I am.

Same with the rep system. Why take it all so serious? Don't you have anything better to do with your lives? Or does it make you less shy to go out in the world and say hello to a neighbor? I think not. More rep doesn't make you better than any other person. If anything it shows you're having fun on a board. Now do you really need confirmation that you're having fun?

I like the rep system as it is. Basically because it means absolutely nothing. Give me 500,000 rep points and we still are not having coffee tomorrow. I pay more value to the viewers of my post. At least that tells me if they enjoy what I have to share. That's all I need to know

[RLA68]

Okay...how do you prevent people from repping others just to say thank you for repping them or because they are their friend?

Do we limit how often you can rep daily or weekly or even monthly? Do we limit how often you can rep one single person?

I know it is not that difficult for me to rep say a friend today and then a couple more friends and be back repping that original friend tomorrow if I wanted to. So the next issue is that with so many people at high levels of rep...it adds up quickly.

Maybe limit how much rep even the "power reppers" can even give. I mean I like putting a spammer at like -50 or whatever right off the bat but....

[theDarkOne]

I second everything z0di4c wrote and im glad your views have changed a bit Sierra.I agree that we all now have more rep so when we give it out the amount is greater.In the olden days it was not like that and im glad people give it out more now.It's a positive thing(well most of the time)and whats wrong with that...........There is no perfect system.I think it would suck if they messed with it.We all enjoy it the way it is and as it has been said.If you put to much into the number on the screen you probably have bigger problems going on.

[sparks]

Sierra + rep for you

and dam Ill be busy with rep for all who replied here

It is what it is and is used how members see fit to use it. Not that much different than the friends thing or groups etc.

At times its used in a spat to award someone who agrees with the reppers opinion

At times its used to thank someone for a post or comment.

I like others here value the comments made in a post more than rep points but do also like the rep comments because at times they are something that perhaps would not be shared in public.

Don'T see an issue with it don't see that admin/mods need to worry about it.

I will add I worked for a forum that did not have it. There it was post count that was the issue. The more you had the more you had participated and the better you were thought of. I see little difference here. We all yourself included celebrate when someone reaches a milestone and I see only positive outcomes from that.

Rep post count avatar signature title it makes no difference we can all look at this as we all will regardless of what we are told to do.

I do like the negative rep option as its a good way to handle or tag spammers if its used accordingly but there again who decides whats right.

cheers

[sparks]

Ill add not sure why this is in the rowdy room as it appears to be a discussion as oposed to a rant.

So if you were told to put it elsewhere would you feel better about it or would you perhaps think about not posting again ?

Ill add a shit dammit and poopoo so it fits here better mate

[Sierra]

I put it here so that people could post their opinions without worrying about rules in Idle. I wanted honest opinions and even debate if there were differing opinions.

[Hailo]

I rep people to show that i appreciate what they have contributed to this board and to say thank you.

I think the repping system works, it lets other people know that they have been noted. I enjoy reading people's reps, it lets me know their thoughts. We take way too much for granted and this repping system shows us that we don't need to take things for granted and if we like something we see we let that person know.

Thank you to whoever thought of this system, i think it works brilliantly.

[Crotch_Ripper]

I guess this is my week to be on the rag.

If I understand this correctly they want to scale down our rep scores?

The rep scores have gotten larger for each of us because we have ALL grown together as a group. We lavish praise on each other and grow larger numbers because of it. This is bad?

I look at it this way when I was young and poor I could only help those out around me so much. Now that Im middle aged and doing rather well for my tax bracket I enjoy helping my family and others around me. I have grown to the point where I can help them like that, so have others in my family. Now because we can lavish on each other & friends we should be forced to 'scale back'?

I guess I will never understand the human temptation to tamper with things that just dont seem to be broken.

We post our rep comments to each other in public, there are numerous threads to discuss how great rep is.

I missed the memo where large amounts of rep are a bad thing?

[pervipete]

I must admit I'm one of those that sometimes gives out rep as a thank you if they give it out to me. Well I try anyway, the problem is I go the find a post, start reading through some threads, get distracted and forget.

I think rep is still a good idea, especially for you first few posts. For some people, me included, joining in on well established forums can be a little daunting. Imagine being the new boy or girl at work. You have in-jokes, already existing friendships, for instance some of the insults floating around between friends are very similar to those dished out during rows. So when you make your first few posts it is difficult to know whether you are hitting the right tone, and having more person replying would just jam up the system. Therefore getting reputation points is gratifying.

I must admit, if I see that mine has gone up, to going to the control panel to see who left it and what did they say.

If too much +rep is given out, so what, as has been said, its not meant to be serious, so why worry? If you not bothered either way, only give it out when you want. If you are, good for you.

I like it the way it is, I think it is a good, fun part of the site, but if it changes it changes, but I don't know what can be done?

Anyway whatever is done, someone will complain, either it's too harsh, or not harsh enough.

[MARADONA]

Well yes the situation is totally changed...i felt this difference more than you guys since i've been out of it from sometimes...
when i got banned i had 4600 reps...and i was the tird member with the most higher reputation level...now 4600 are nothing...
it took me a year more or less to gain that reputation...but i don't think that we should change something just because of it.
Yes it's true we will see members with 50000 reps, then 100000 and so on...but what's the problem???!!!
Have 1000 reps or 1000000 is the same thing...the only important thing is to get fun...and don't look to this stuff too much...
personaly i really like to get repped...and i also try to rep the people as much as i can...and i will not change in it...that's for sure!
The rep system is made for support the people...make them feel confortable and if is possible happy too...beh i always valued it...
it's something of very good to me...and i hope we will continue to get fun with it like we always do!!!

[batffink]

Why don't you treat it like inflation ? once upon a time it cost sixpence for a pint of beer now it's £2-3 a pint

[snarkopo]

Originally Posted by MARADONA

Well yes the situation is totally changed...i felt this difference more than you guys since i've been out of it from sometimes...
when i got banned i had 4600 reps...and i was the tird member with the most higher reputation level...now 4600 are nothing...
it took me a year more or less to gain that reputation...but i don't think that we should change something just because of it.
Yes it's true we will see members with 50000 reps, then 100000 and so on...but what's the problem???!!!
Have 1000 reps or 1000000 is the same thing...the only important thing is to get fun...and don't look to this stuff too much...
personaly i really like to get repped...and i also try to rep the people as much as i can...and i will not change in it...that's for sure!
The rep system is made for support the people...make them feel confortable and if is possible happy too...beh i always valued it...
it's something of very good to me...and i hope we will continue to get fun with it like we always do!!!

Ya gotta admit Maradonna's a nice guy. How in the hell he ever got banned is beyond me but I agree here. And ya know what? I'm gonna give him +rep for this post.

[sparks]

Originally Posted by Maradona

when i got banned i had 4600 reps...and i was the tird member with the most higher reputation level...now 4600 are nothing...
it took me a year more or less to gain that reputation...

Naw it did not those of us who appreciate you never lost a point we just could not express that

Originally Posted by Sierra

I put it here so that people could post their opinions without worrying about rules in Idle. I wanted honest opinions and even debate if there were differing opinions.

I think you have what you wanted and for what its worth this is the right place

and MARADONA Terd is spelled terd LOL

cheers

[MARADONA]

Originally Posted by snarkopo

Ya gotta admit Maradonna's a nice guy. How in the hell he ever got banned is beyond me but I agree here. And ya know what? I'm gonna give him +rep for this post.

Thank you my friend!!!!! Later i will rep you!!!

Originally Posted by sparks

Naw it did not those of us who appreciate you never lost a point we just could not express that



I think you have what you wanted and for what its worth this is the right place

and MARADONA Terd is spelled terd LOL

cheers

Sorry Sparks i tryed to do my best...but my english is still not good enough for you...
btw for me it's still an honor to have been the "terd", since the only ones before of me were Sani and Touri!
My first two RB friends!!! AMEN

[sparks]

my friend never appologize to me

I have learned more from you than I can thank you for

mate

[Sierra]

By the way.....it's spelled "turd".

[MARADONA]

Originally Posted by sparks

my friend never appologize to me

I have learned more from you than I can thank you for

mate

Seriously my friend you are really too nice with me...thank you for let me feel so special!!!!
Probably i will risk to "overfull" my self steam...yeah...but i love it!!!!!