Your thoughts on forum reputation

[K'Arian]

Although I have been playing the game for 6 years, I have only recently become more active in the forums, and there is something I have been meaning to ask, so no time like the present . I wanted to ask for some opinions on forum reputation, like does anyone have a certain criteria for providing positive rep, or more particularly negative rep to a poster?

For me, I don't like giving negative rep, and never have. If someone says something I don't agree with, that's fine, it's their opinion, but in my mind that doesn't constitute giving them negative rep. On the other hand, I like giving positive rep to posters that make good points or make me laugh in general

The reason I ask is that I received some negative rep about 2 years ago for a post I made on a thread that can only be described as completly harmless and it kind of put me off posting anything here for a considerable time.

So anyways, the floor is open...have you been given negative rep for something you posted and felt it harsh? Or are you someone who gives negative rep freely, and if so, do you have any criteria for doing so? Or are you like me, only passing out positive rep, and if so, what do you look for in a post that warrants positivity? Or maybe you think the reputation element of the forum is silly?

[Crell_1]

The forum requires a modest amount of Positive rep be given to you, before you can give negative rep.

I have given negitive rep on very limited number of occassions where a user was violating the community guidelines in addition to reporting the post, never because I disagreed with the ideas reflected as some are prone to do.

Fortunately, forum reputation is something that will be going away with the revamp.

It causes far more problems than its worth. The community will simply have to be more active about deciding who's opinions they trust.

[K'Arian]

The forum requires a modest amount of Positive rep be given to you, before you can give negative rep........

Fortunately, forum reputation is something that will be going away with the revamp.

It causes far more problems than its worth. The community will simply have to be more active about deciding who's opinions they trust.

I did not know either of these things...but I guess the first point you made makes good sense, and the latter is very true also.

thanks for sharing

[TiNdA-LoS]

I've received neg reputation for posting in Hunters forum, as some others, I'm sure.
Some guy there don't like people thinking different.

[Fredelas]

I think the reputation system was a social experiment to see if it would encourage players to think twice about what they're posting by allowing peers to reward or punish them with pixels. I think the experiment was mostly a failure.

I got a lot of positive reputation for a guide I helped write, but it hasn't stopped me from being occasionally irreverent and sometimes insensitive.

I imagine the community team has ended up spending more time reviewing complaints of unwarranted reputation than they would have spent simply moderating the posts themselves. I'll be happy to see it go.

[K'Arian]

I think the reputation system was a social experiment to see if it would encourage players to think twice about what they're posting by allowing peers to reward or punish them with pixels. I think the experiment was mostly a failure.

If this were the case, I would say it was more like an epic failure

thanks for sharing though, I have noted that you have posted some nice guides and advice

[djheydt]

It was fun, in its way, but I'm not sorry it's being phased out.

I can still send people virtual caffeine, chocolate, and doughnuts if I want.

[K'Arian]

It was fun, in its way, but I'm not sorry it's being phased out.

I can still send people virtual caffeine, chocolate, and doughnuts if I want.

*holds hand up* oh me me, caffeine over here please

[Frisco]

The only reasons for negative rep were the same as the reasons to report a post, so you'd think getting a post removed would be sufficient, but instead it opened the system up to abuse, and I'm sure more private messages than they needed about the subject.

Positive rep also means little, since it's given out as much for saying something popular or funny as it is something helpful or original.

I've never been really sure why it was introduced, but I'm happy to see it going away. All this time, and it still never really occurs to me after reading a post that I should give or deduct reputation. I mean no disrespect to all the helpful people who have written rep-worthy posts (hopefully I've thanked you in-thread), or to the people who have seen fit to give me reputation, but I'm more likely to appreciate a private message saying "great point" or "here's why you're an idiot:" than a virtual, anonymous thumbs up/down.

[Phawnie]

It was fun, in its way, but I'm not sorry it's being phased out.

I can still send people virtual caffeine, chocolate, and doughnuts if I want.

WTT forum rep for doughnuts, chocolate iced ones please

[K'Arian]

The only reasons for negative rep were the same as the reasons to report a post, so you'd think getting a post removed would be sufficient, but instead it opened the system up to abuse, and I'm sure more private messages than they needed about the subject.

Positive rep also means little, since it's given out as much for saying something popular or funny as it is something helpful or original.

I've never been really sure why it was introduced, but I'm happy to see it going away. All this time, and it still never really occurs to me after reading a post that I should give or deduct reputation. I mean no disrespect to all the helpful people who have written rep-worthy posts (hopefully I've thanked you in-thread), or to the people who have seen fit to give me reputation, but I'm more likely to appreciate a private message saying "great point" or "here's why you're an idiot:" than a virtual, anonymous thumbs up/down.

Thanks for posting your thoughts Frisco

[Crell_1]

I'm more likely to appreciate a private message saying "great point" or "here's why you're an idiot:" than a virtual, anonymous thumbs up/down.

Many people many not realize that they can view the comments if any left with the reputation by clicking on the rep button for the post in question.

Negitive Reputation requires a comment. Positive Reputation does not.

Sometimes I'll use it to leave a short message of support, that wasn't substantive enough to the discussion to warrant a thread post.

Occasionally, I'll even sign them.

[K'Arian]

Many people many not realize that they can view the comments if any left with the reputation by clicking on the rep button for the post in question.

Negitive Reputation requires a comment. Positive Reputation does not.

Sometimes I'll use it to leave a short message of support, that wasn't substantive enough to the discussion to warrant a thread post.

Occasionally, I'll even sign them.

Funny you should say that, I have been doing so with posters on this thread (unless I can't otherwise give them more rep just now :P)

[Tinuvela]

As another person pointed it out, I think reputation was introduced to urge posters to think twice before voicing their thoughts and maybe urge them to write things in a more appropriate manner.

Now I havent been on the forums long enough to observe if it has been a major failure or not. I do not know if removal of it would make trolling worse either after all there is an option to turn it off but I am thinking it might, while hoping it wont.

[K'Arian]

I do not know if removal of it would make trolling worse either after all there is an option to turn it off but I am thinking it might, while hoping it wont.

Valid point here . Will be interesting to see how that develops and whether a new mechanism might be brought in to handle such posts?

[Frisco]

Many people many not realize that they can view the comments if any left with the reputation by clicking on the rep button for the post in question.

Negitive Reputation requires a comment. Positive Reputation does not.

Sometimes I'll use it to leave a short message of support, that wasn't substantive enough to the discussion to warrant a thread post.

Occasionally, I'll even sign them.

Yeah, there have been occasional informative rep snippets over the years. I may even have a -Crell or two in there.

But most of the time there isn't anything, and I feel like a thumbs up/thumbs down mechanic on the individual post would give a better indication of where a post stands in terms of being well-received. I know that my reputation has as much to do with my post count and longevity as it does with my posts actually being good, so I don't want someone taking me more seriously in my vitriolic posts just because I give good advice in other posts (well, actually, my vitriolic posts are what get the most rep, but you get the point.).

[Lunasa]

I rather like the way reputation is implemented on the forum. My experience in "active forum participation" is limited to only a dozen of large and well-structured websites, and among all of them I like the reputation system on this forum the most. It is not too obvious (we don't see the exact number of people who supported the person, we don't see for which post(s) that person got his reputation), and at the same time it highlights the extreme cases (a person has a full bar of those green squares and only 47 posts?! It is definitely worth reading his post history; a person has 6000+ posts and only 4 green squares? I may ignore his posts if I am in a hurry). And even this half-hidden reputation system may increase your mood if you notice that someone appreciated your posts. In my case most of reputation I receive for the posts which were not even well thought through. I guess, people just agree and "+rep" immediately, while the posts which took me many hours to construct/review/rethink often stay without attention (in the sense of reputation, I want to believe they were still important and helpful)

Some people definitely abuse the reputation system here... and it happens on any forum where this system exists.

Only twice I wanted to give a negative reputation, and I never could. Those posts were extremely (in my view of course) offensive and rude. I still don't know how much reputation one has to have in order to be able to give a negative one. And now it does not matter. Despite the few positive things about the reputation, I am very happy to see it going away.

[Frisco]

As another person pointed it out, I think reputation was introduced to urge posters to think twice before voicing their thoughts

Twice?! I thought I was doing well by thinking ONCE before HALF of my posts.

[Tinuvela]

Twice?! I thought I was doing well by thinking ONCE before HALF of my posts.

I never said that it succeeded

[K'Arian]

I rather like the way reputation is implemented on the forum. My experience in "active forum participation" is limited to only a dozen of large and well-structured websites, and among all of them I like the reputation system on this forum the most. It is not too obvious (we don't see the exact number of people who supported the person, we don't see for which post(s) that person got his reputation), and at the same time it highlights the extreme cases (a person has a full bar of those green squares and only 47 posts?! It is definitely worth reading his post history; a person has 6000+ posts and only 4 green squares? I may ignore his posts if I am in a hurry). And even this half-hidden reputation system may increase your mood if you notice that someone appreciated your posts. In my case most of reputation I receive for the posts which were not even well thought through. I guess, people just agree and "+rep" immediately, while the posts which took me many hours to construct/review/rethink often stay without attention (in the sense of reputation, I want to believe they were still important and helpful)

Some people definitely abuse the reputation system here... and it happens on any forum where this system exists.

Only twice I wanted to give a negative reputation, and I never could. Those posts were extremely (in my view of course) offensive and rude. I still don't know how much reputation one has to have in order to be able to give a negative one. And now it does not matter. Despite the few positive things about the reputation, I am very happy to see it going away.

I haven't experienced any other rep systems, so I cannot form a comparison. But thanks for sharing your views and appreciation of some of the aspects of this one

[MoonwalkIntoMordor]

Worthless as an indicator of poster quality. Priceless as an indicator of how well a demagogue someone is.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people with high reputation are not decent members. I haven't gotten to that degree of self-loathing yet. It's just that the road to high reputation does not go through quality posting. It goes through playing to the crowds. Saying what the people want to hear. Low brow humour. Witty retorts. Criticism of Turbine. Criticism of other (preferably well known) forum members. Most of my reputation came from the things listed, instead of my actually helpful and informative posts. You entertain the crowds, they shower you with greens. That's all there is to it.

I'm glad it's going away. If it were up to me, we wouldn't have visible post counts or join dates either. All of these things are just distractions from the actual substance of the discussion and often contribute to prejudice.

There is one thing I liked about the reputation system though, and it was the ability to leave a message for that specific post. Simpler and quicker than a direct message, and cleaner than a +1 to the thread. That is one functionality I'd like to see them preserve if possible.

[Crell_1]

Worthless as an indicator of poster quality. Priceless as an indicator of how well a demagogue someone is.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people with high reputation are not decent members. I haven't gotten to that degree of self-loathing yet. It's just that the road to high reputation does not go through quality posting.


..
I'm glad it's going away. If it were up to me, we wouldn't have visible post counts or join dates either. All of these things are just distractions from the actual substance of the discussion and often contribute to prejudice.
..
There is one thing I liked about the reputation system though, and it was the ability to leave a message for that specific post. Simpler and quicker than a direct message, and cleaner than a +1 to the thread. That is one functionality I'd like to see them preserve if possible.

It may not always come through quality posting, but I'd like to think that on the average, more of it comes from quality posts, at least in the subset of the forums I read. I frequently stay out of the assorted PVMP threads, and the MEME threads, and thus, those posters were not frequently exposed to me.

I do think join-date does give a sense of your history, and thus the ability to see the big-picture. Certainly this can be witnessed in threads in the Helms Deep forum, where we see people arguing yet again that an absense of evidence is not evidence of absence, which while true, trivializes our history of having to fight for every last scrap of group content we've gotten over the last 2 years to come with the quality it should have, Draigoch doubly so!

Just because the post is critical of Turbine doesn't mean it wasn't constructive, well written or otherwise a good post, we are after all the consumers.

I think I've gotten a pretty even amount of rep from my posts in disagreement with Turbine and my 'Here's what I can suggest to help' posts. I even had some from a series on how someone managed to change my mind about the stated store gear. Most of my minimal negative rep dings I've received came from posts which at first glance appeared to be me nitpicking Turbine, but were expressly in-line with +Turbine instructions and thus overturned.

I'd like to have such information available, even if it isn't displayed on the post itself. Let us go to a page by clicking on the username where we can see such things as Post Count, Join date' etc.

I do value the mini-pm function that allowing me to attach rep to a post gave me.

PS -Crell didn't necessarily indicate a Negative rep, it simply separated the comment from the signature. I have, however, once or twice, signed my negative rep I felt so strongly.

[Fainecarth]

Reputation is a horrible thing. I've had two negative reps thrown at me for disagreeing with someone, and turned mine off.

[Sapience]

I think the reputation system was a social experiment to see if it would encourage players to think twice about what they're posting by allowing peers to reward or punish them with pixels. I think the experiment was mostly a failure.

It's a very interesting tale of two communities. DDO and LOTRO added reputation at the same time. For DDO the community mostly used it as intended and they are keeping the system.
Here, not so much. It is heavily abused, misused, and a popular griefing tool (rep up your friends so you get enough rep to neg rep peope who disagree or you don't like).

Tolero and I talk often about the dramatically different outcomes and use. Especially as the results were almost perfectly opposite of what we expected.

[Crell_1]

It's a very interesting tale of two communities. DDO and LOTRO added reputation at the same time. For DDO the community mostly used it as intended and they are keeping the system.
Here, not so much. It is heavily abused, misused, and a popular griefing tool (rep up your friends so you get enough rep to neg rep peope who disagree or you don't like).

Tolero and I talk often about the dramatically different outcomes and use. Especially as the results were almost perfectly opposite of what we expected.

Disappointing. I suspect its unlikely that even a full-rep wipe here as a clean slate would produce different results by now. People are too entrenched in their ways =/

When it goes away, it'd be interesting to hear some statistics.. Rep Amount of the Highest Reped user [no name]. [forum category for the post with the most +Rep.. that sort of thing.],

Number of tickets filed as reputation appeals in some fashion or another as a proportion of forum reports overall (by community)