I have enabled the User Reputation system for the forum. There appear to be lots of arguments going on, so this should enable you to voice your approval or disapproval of particular posts. Just click on the small set of scales icon in the bottom left of each posting to vote and leave a short note.

Please don't abuse this system, and do reward positive and polite contributions to the forum.

What is the reputation system?
Much like "karma points" and "mod points" used in other online communities, Reputation is one way to gauge at a glance how much credibility to give the author of a post. The Reputation system is an informal way for members of the forum to reward (or penalize) fellow members for informative, helpful, articulate, or even simply entertaining (or not) posts. A user with a high Reputation is someone you're more likely to learn something from. A user with a low Reputation is someone you might simply want to ignore. User reputations are shown on each post as green (or red) squares in the upper right corner. The more squares, the higher the reputation. The same squares can be found in each user's Public Profile. The squares are only general guides, however — only the user knows his or her actual Reputation point level.

How do I give reputation points?
Every post has a "scale" Reputation icon in the postbit: Image
If a member has posted something you found particularly insightful, you can click the Reputation icon and indicate that you approve of the post. (If the post was unhelpful, you can click the Reputation icon and indicate that you disapprove.) You can also include a comment if you like.

Are there limits on the amount of rep I can give?
There are quite a few limits in place to prevent minor abuse of the reputation system. Obviously there cannot be a flawless system, but these limits try to curb any intentional abuse. You must have a minimum of 1 post and 50 reputation points in order for your reputation to count on other people. Until you meet those requirements, your reputation will show up as grey dots. Everybody is limited to giving out 10 reputations per 24-hour time period; you cannot give the same person reputation until you have given reputation to 20 other people. This prevents friends from giving 20 reputations to the same person every day.

How do I see reputation given to me?
If you go into your User CP (linked at the top of every page) you can see a list of the past 15 reputation points you have received. A red dot beside the comment means you've received negative rep feedback and a green dot means you've received positive rep feedback.

How do I find out my current rep score?
In your User CP, in the upper right, you can see what your current reputation score is. Also, to find the reputation points given for a particular post just click the reputation icon on your post, a window will pop up with your current score for that individual post.

What do the coloured bars represent?
ImageImage
You get awarded 1 reputation bar for every 100 reputation points received. The rep bars are displayed in each of your forum posts, underneath your avatar and username.

50 => 1 bar
99 => 1 bar
125 => 2 bar
199 => 2 bar
359 => 4 bar
[Rep]

How come some people already have one green box
[Rep]

Originally Posted by Anthony Butcher:
How do I see reputation given to me?
If you go into your User CP (linked at the top of every page) you can see a list of the past 15 reputation points you have received.

:-)

No list in my CP.
[Rep]

Originally Posted by John Connor:
:-)

No list in my CP.

Try it now. I have only just enabled it, so it is unsurprising that no one has given you any reputation yet! :-)
[Rep]

OK, just got a test comment up there. Seems sorted.
[Rep]

Originally Posted by Anthony Butcher:
I have only just enabled it, so it is unsurprising that no one has given you any reputation yet! :-)

I know, I know. :-)

But, as BA said, what's with the green bars already? Bit of a bug? Or do I just rock that much? :-)

Edit: OK, while some folks previously had a green square and some folks had a grey one, everyone is now green. Sorted.
[Rep]

Originally Posted by John Connor:
Edit: OK, while some folks previously had a green square and some folks had a grey one, everyone is now green. Sorted.

I did a 'rebuild' on the reputation scores so that everyone starts off on the same level.
[Rep]

Originally Posted by Anthony Butcher:
I did a 'rebuild' on the reputation scores so that everyone starts off on the same level.

Ahhh, that'll be it then. Sweet.

Let's hope this new system is a useful thing for the forum.
[Rep]

It will be interesting to see how this system pans out. :-)
[Rep]

OK, I can see a problem.

Let's say that the sensible people have the idiots on ignore. The idiots would be able to give negative reputation to the sensibles but the sensibles wouldn't be able to give negatives to the idiots. This would result in the sensibles losing reputation to the point where their vote is no longer counted, while the idiots retain theirs. From there it'd snowball and the idiots would gain control of the reputation system.

Solution: Don't allow people to post negative reputation for people who have them on ignore (if someone has me on ignore I can only post positive feedback for him, not negative). If the system allows it, of course.

:-)
[Rep]