reputation system

[froggsong]

There is no rule for this forum that says you must state that it is your opinion or experience when you post. And shouldn't you ask for clarification before you detract from their reputation? No one person knows better than everyone else, no one knows all the facts, and everyone presents information without saying "in my opinion" or "in my experience". Everyone here has done it. You shouldn't give bad rep just because someone says something that you don't agree with because it doesn't mesh perfectly with your own experience. As you said, this is a forum. It is a free exchange of information and experience. It is not an encyclopedia, and everyone should know that. Not all of the info you are going to get is going to be useful, correct, or even safe. You have to take everything you read in ANY forum with a grain of salt.


grrrrrrrrrrr... I hit the wrong button and lost the rest of what I typed... Oh well. It wasn't important anyway.

[Austin]

Thanks

Froggsong, what made me think of this is....forget which thread.

But someone said they got dinged for points, and the reason of which he said it was for, was not fair. Someone took away points from him for an opinion.

[froggsong]

mmmhhhmmmm, I know which one... The rep in that situation was incorrectly given and the member had their points restored to 0 (should have been 10, but I don't think Marty was paying attention, lol). That is not something that I can do myself, but I presented everything to Marty and he agreed and fixed the issue.

That does not mean, however that every time someone gets negative rep that they should complain about it. If they genuinely do not understand why they got the rep, then sending a PM to a mod to try to figure it out is okay (please be really really sure you didn't deserve it before sending a message). Then if the mod agrees, it can be taken to the next level and be submitted to Marty. If Marty agrees, then it can be reversed. This is only if the rep was given for an incorrect reason. I had a list of inappropriate reasons in the last post I posted, but they got lost. I'll write it out again later.

I feel a bit like I'm the rep police though, so lets try to just keep it appropriate and fair so that we don't have to go through the process again!

[Austin]

Ehh.....

*runs away for lack of anything better to do*

[froggsong]

So I have written up a new post about the rep system. I'm going to post it here, and then post it in a new thread in Feedback, until we can get a new section set up for things like this.

Here it is:

What is the reputation system?

The reputation system is to be used to recognize the helpful input and contributions of your fellow bretheren. It involves leaving positive or negative feedback in the form of points for specific posts. By using the rep system regularly, you help other people know if they can trust what someone has posted.


How do I use the reputation system?

When you come across a post you find especially helpful/harmful you can leave reputation feedback for the poster by clicking on the small set of scales in the upper right hand corner of their post. This brings up a dialogue box which allows you to select "I approve" or "I disapprove" and a small text field to enter a comment. You MUST enter a comment in the field provided.


The reputation system is not to be used for baseless or personal reasons. It should not be used "just because" or "tit-for-tat". This includes but is not limited to "fluffing" or "twinking" someone by awarding them points because they are your online buddy, because you both disagree with the same poster or anything equally shallow. On the flip side negative points should not be left merely because you disagree with someone, have any sort of personal rivalries or for any other vindictive reasons. Misuse of this system may result in being "neutered" either temporarily or permanently depending on the severity of the situation. If this occcurs you may be placed in a different usergroup that lacks the ability to use the reputation system at all regardless of your current status.



What happens when I get positive or negative rep points?

As certain levels of points are reached, more little green boxes are earned. (Or red if you're going the wrong way). Also, the text that appears when you mouse-over someone's reputation boxes will change.


POINTS..........MOUSE-OVER TEXT

-99999 to -100 User is about to be banned
-99 to -75 User is the LAST one you should trust
-76 to -50 User is infamous around these parts
-51 to -25 User can only hope to improve
-26 to -10 User has displayed a little shameless behaviour in the past
-9 to 0 User is an unknown quantity at this point
9 to 10 User is on a distinguished road
11 to 25 User is learning and growing
26 to 50 User will become famous soon enough
51 to 75 User is a jewel in the rough
76 to 100 User has much to be proud of
101 to 150 User has a brilliant future
151 to 200 User is a name known to all
201 to 275 User is a community asset
276 to 350 User has a spectacular aura about
351 to 450 User is a splendid one to behold
451 to 650 User is a glorious beacon of light
651 to 750 User has a reputation beyond repute



Where do I find out what my reputation level is?

Everyone starts with 10 reputation points. You can view your reputation points and comments in the UserCP (look in the menu bar near the top of the site for this).

On your UserCP, you will have the same little boxes you have in a thread. There may be more than one box, which indicates the level of reputation you have recieved. If the box/es is red, you are in the negative, if the box'es is green, you are in the positive. If you have a grey box, your reputation is disabled for some reason.



How do I find out why someone left me rep?

Next to the reputation comments in your UserCP, you'll notice that there is a colored box:

Red square - negative reputation
Green square - positive reputation
Grey square - no points +/- (user was unable to use the rep system - because they are still a new member, have a negative amount of rep, or have reputation disabled)

All reputation "hits" should have a thread title next to them. Clicking this will take you to the specific post the reputation comment is referring to.



Can people see who left the reputation points?

No. In order to avoid unnecessary "paybacks" this information is not available.



Most people have one green box, but some have two or three. Why?

Everyone starts out with one green box. Every 100 points of rep earns another green box. And if the box is red instead of green, then the person has gone into negative reps.



If you have questions or concerns not adressed here or that you do not wish to make public please feel free to contact an administrator or moderator.