User Reputations II

[ALLSKIING]

Originally Posted by andyzee

I say scratch the idea. When I saw my reputation numbers go up, I actually tried to post usefull info to try and drive it up higher, can't have that!

This is the other side of all this. Some people may post more to get there numbers up.

[riverc0il]

Originally Posted by Bob R

I really stongly dislike this idea. I think there are some intimidation issues here. Some of those who have a similar opinions have already posted the reasons.

i think the opinions of recent newbies to the site should be strongly considered in this regard. using T4T as an example (no offense intended, i am a participating member on that forum), a cliquey environment can occur with people REPing each other every other thread. it creates a very inclusive look to the forum. i have actually been registered on T4T since like 01, but just don't participate much becasue it looks like a hard community to break into. that could be just an illusion, but if something is causing that illusion, it is as good as reality. again, i am just using T4T as an example strictly because it is the only other forum i know of with a Rep system, i have never liked it there.

but, i tried to look at an AZ rep system independantly and on a clean slate. i also tried using the system myself. i found a lot of my posts were getting rep'd when i didn't think there was much call for it based on how i view the rep system. i hate to suggest making a policy on the system, but it is an irrelevent statistic if someone people are liberal with their reps and others conservative.

another thought is there seems to be much debate on this topic. even if the yes votes only slightly out number the no votes, i don't think a majority rule should apply with such strong feelings. major changes to the constitution, for example, require 2/3 vote from two different sections of congress and sign from the pres, so just looking for a majority vote on the issue may be not representative of long term best interest of all members and the community itself.

at the risk of sounding like bobR who is definitley not down with any negativity (and i highly respect that even though i dwell on the negative frequently), i think the negative reps is not a good aspect of the system (full disclosure: so far i have 13+ and 1- reps). a little disagreement or misunderstanding that results in a negative rep could result in hard feelings. i don't hold any hard feelings on my negative rep, but i am skeptical that most folks with negative reps wouldn't hold that action against someone.

i am going to leave the jury out for another few days before placing my vote, but i see a lot of negatives and have yet to see any benefits yet. has any one else specifically utilized the rep system as a beneficial statistic? i think a pro- vs con- could be helpful, and i mean actual results, not potential positives, but what people have actually experienced as positives. with a high rep and rep power, i would stand to 'look good' by keeping the rep system. that is irrelevent to me but does suggest my feelings against the system are certainly not influenced by potential benefits. i prefer to let my posts speak for themselves.

[highpeaksdrifter]

Originally Posted by riverc0il

but i see a lot of negatives and have yet to see any benefits yet. has any one else specifically utilized the rep system as a beneficial statistic?

This really hit home with me. I don't really see a benefit. I am a naturally competitive person and I admit I want to get rep points. As I write this I realize how childish I'm being.

I know don't think any good can come from this, only problems, especially for newbies. I orginally voted yes, but if I can I'd like to change to no.

[Grassi21]

Exactly. I was PMing with Bob R and I mentioned the following:

I consider the members of this forum a great resource for all kinds of topics (mtns., trail reports, defining ski jargon etc). But the level of dedication displayed by AZ members has inspired me to make skiing a bigger part of my life. I would hate for another newbie to miss that opportunity or be afraid to ask a question because someone has "rep power" up to their eyeballs.

[eatskisleep]

Could someone give me some "rep" as an example so I can see the comments?


Thanks!

[ALLSKIING]

Originally Posted by eatskisleep

Could someone give me some "rep" as an example so I can see the comments?


Thanks!

Done

[Greg]

Originally Posted by riverc0il

i think the opinions of recent newbies to the site should be strongly considered in this regard. using T4T as an example (no offense intended, i am a participating member on that forum), a cliquey environment can occur with people REPing each other every other thread. it creates a very inclusive look to the forum. i have actually been registered on T4T since like 01, but just don't participate much becasue it looks like a hard community to break into. that could be just an illusion, but if something is causing that illusion, it is as good as reality. again, i am just using T4T as an example strictly because it is the only other forum i know of with a Rep system, i have never liked it there.

but, i tried to look at an AZ rep system independantly and on a clean slate. i also tried using the system myself. i found a lot of my posts were getting rep'd when i didn't think there was much call for it based on how i view the rep system. i hate to suggest making a policy on the system, but it is an irrelevent statistic if someone people are liberal with their reps and others conservative.

another thought is there seems to be much debate on this topic. even if the yes votes only slightly out number the no votes, i don't think a majority rule should apply with such strong feelings. major changes to the constitution, for example, require 2/3 vote from two different sections of congress and sign from the pres, so just looking for a majority vote on the issue may be not representative of long term best interest of all members and the community itself.

at the risk of sounding like bobR who is definitley not down with any negativity (and i highly respect that even though i dwell on the negative frequently), i think the negative reps is not a good aspect of the system (full disclosure: so far i have 13+ and 1- reps). a little disagreement or misunderstanding that results in a negative rep could result in hard feelings. i don't hold any hard feelings on my negative rep, but i am skeptical that most folks with negative reps wouldn't hold that action against someone.

i am going to leave the jury out for another few days before placing my vote, but i see a lot of negatives and have yet to see any benefits yet. has any one else specifically utilized the rep system as a beneficial statistic? i think a pro- vs con- could be helpful, and i mean actual results, not potential positives, but what people have actually experienced as positives. with a high rep and rep power, i would stand to 'look good' by keeping the rep system. that is irrelevent to me but does suggest my feelings against the system are certainly not influenced by potential benefits. i prefer to let my posts speak for themselves.

Wow. What a post. I feel like posi-repping you for that one, but I think I'll hold off...

Originally Posted by highpeaksdrifter

This really hit home with me. I don't really see a benefit. I am a naturally competitive person and I admit I want to get rep points. As I write this I realize how childish I'm being.

I know don't think any good can come from this, only problems, especially for newbies. I orginally voted yes, but if I can I'd like to change to no.

I'll change your vote. After thinking about this some more, I'm going to change mine to no too...

[riverc0il]

Wow. What a post. I feel like posi-repping you for that one, but I think I'll hold off...

don't worry, i don't think i deserve a rep for that post! despite having thought a lot about the topic recently, my un-edited post has some typos and some run on sentances. never cared much for proof reading at home, i do enough double checking of every word at work

[kingslug]

I don't think it's needed. I don't see any reason to enpower or disenpower people. Things have a way of sorting themselves out in these venues anyway. There are those here who ski a lot, have been doing so for a long time and have a lot of info to offer. And there are those who don't, but participate as best they can. We all know or will know after a time who they are.

[teachski]

The only "good" thing I have seen, at least initially, is that some people are a little more careful about what they post and how they post it (as not to offend others). If it is used correctly it can have value, but I can see that some people who are "more popular" will get more Reputation points than others. The comments I have received have been directly related to posts I have made...and ones I have given have been too, but I can see that there is potential for "buddies" to pad each other's numbers. If there were a way to keep a similar system that did not have visible stats, but allowed people to leave a quick "atta boy (or girl)" without having to do a PM, it may work.

I think that the visible Reputation points could actually have a negative effect on some members. Posting to get points may cause the value of threads to deteriorate after time, particularly if "cliques" form and pad each other's points...in much the same way as some people's posts deteriorate when they are going for a new peak..."Only 20 more posts and I'll be at 1000, ok, so I'll throw a smile here and post a comment here, and another smile here..."

If this could cause hard feelings and some people to leave the site, it's not worth it.

Earlier I noticed that a member with a really low post count had not earned any rep. points (had the original 10) despite a few really useful posts. I wondered if it was this way because the person, though not new, rarely posted and people were not familiar with the person...they had no "buddies" so to speak. I gave this person rep points. ( I happen to know this person enough that I do not believe that the lack of rep points would have chased this person away, however.)

I can see rep points becoming more of a popularity contest...we don't need that...I had to live with that all through high school and do not need it in my adult life....Greg, please change my vote. The more I think of it, the less I like it.