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Thread: Bucko's guide and FAQ for the Rep System

  1. #1
    Austral Alien
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    Default Bucko's guide and FAQ for the Rep System

    I keep seeing threads about what something means in the rep system, so here is my guide and FAQ which hopefully will answer all the questions and give people somewhere to link to when the inevitable new threads will pop up.

    I'm going to ad my stuff, while also quoting other users to try and make this the definitive post/thread on the subject.

    Q: What is this rep system anyway?


    Quote Originally Posted by sgtm View Post
    Well, like most forums, people always look at post count as kind of a seniority thing or rank structure if you will. Here it's not like that. Post count means little. Just because someone has a high post count does not mean that they are trustworthy or provide good info. In fact it can be just the opposite, they can be the village idiot. The rep system was put into place by the admins to give US a chance to decide who is reputable or not. Positive rep means you've done something that helped someone, or someone liked your mod or idea, or you posted a useful link. It's just that, USEFUL stuff that gets you positive rep. Negative rep works the same way. If you pissed someone off, they can leave negative rep for you. When they first implemented the system, it was frowned upon to tell someone that you're leaving them rep, good or bad. That view has since changed.
    Q: How do I know what my rep is?

    Look below your username to see the little green boxes. It's a quick guide to see how much rep you have and is in every persons post. You can also click your User CP at the top of the forum to see the last 10 rep points (positive and negative) given out. Another way to see how many rep points you have is to click on the "Scales of Justice" at the bottom of your posts:

    By clicking it in your posts, it will tell you if a particular post of yours has received and reputation yet and give you the total rep count you have.

    Q: Speaking of those boxes, what do the colours mean?

    I'm glad you asked! Here is a run down of the colours and what each one represents.
    is where everyone starts off with. Even new users have a +rep count of 1 and a single green box. This same box will appear in your User CP when you get a +rep from someone.

    will appear next to your name if you have neither a +rep or a -rep. Think of it as zero. +1 will make it green, -1 will make it red.
    However, when you see this in your User CP, it has a different meaning. It means you have been given a +rep by someone with less than 5 posts and it doesn't count towards your reputation until the user has more than 10 posts. This is to try and combat people cheating the system by making false usernames and giving themselves lots of false +rep.

    will appear when you have an overall negative rep. If this happens, think about what you are posting and why it is annoying people.
    In your user CP the red shows up next to each negative rep you've been given.

    is next to Crimson Sky's name only. He has his reputation disabled as he is the owner of the site and with the quality of his work his rep would be maxed out in about three and a half minutes, making it pointless. So he decided to have it disabled.

    Q: Why do some people have more boxes than me and what happens when I hover my mouse over these boxes?

    The more positive rep someone gets, the more green boxes they will get. For every 40 rep points a user receives, another dark green box will be added below their username. After 5 dark green boxes are reached, light green boxes will start to appear. These are harder to get as they require 60 positive reps each.
    When you hover your mouse over the coloured boxes, a message will appear
    From worst to best they are as follows:

    "*user* may very well be a single celled organism. (anything lower than -50)
    "*user* is a despicable cad" (-50 to -25)
    "*user* has more enemies than friends" (-24 to -5)
    "*user* isn't popular around here, but we haven't written them off yet" (-4 rep to 0 rep)


    "*user* is an unknown quantity" (1-4)
    "*user* has yet to make their mark" (5-24)
    "*user* is well known around here" (25-49)
    "*user* is friendly and helpful" (50-74)
    "*user* is popular and handy to have around" (75-99)
    "*user* is a helpful and decent person" (100-124)
    "*user* knows what they are talking about when it comes to computers" (125-149)
    "*user* travels with the force as their ally" (150-174)
    "*user* has iconic status around here" (175-224)
    "*user* is a pillar of this community" (225-249)
    "*user* knows the uses for every single dremel attachment: This person is a case modding demi-god." (250-299)
    "*user* knows almost everything about modding" (300-399)
    "*user* might just be God." (400 and above)


    Q: Right, I'm ready to give out some rep! What do I do?

    Once your post count is over 10, and you don't have an overall negative reputation, you can give out some points.
    To do it, click the "Scales of Justice"
    on someone elses post (in this case I'm using DaveW's as an example) and a pop up box like this will appear:


    Select whether you approve or disapprove the post. If you disapprove, you MUST leave a comment in the box. There is no need to leave one if leaving positive rep. Once done, hit the "Add to reputation" button" and it is done.

    Q: Do I have to leave a comment? Or leave my name?

    As mentioned above, you must leave a comment when you leave a negative rep, other wise it is up to you.
    The system is designed to be anonymous, so you don't have to leave your name, nor can the person who receives the rep see who it is from unless you decide to leave your name.
    However, be warned that the Admin team CAN see who left the rep, so don't try and leave someone else's name on a negative rep.

    Quote Originally Posted by Crimson Sky
    In case anyone was wondering, admins can see who posted a particular comment. It is only anonymous to the regular members. Anyone who posts a rep comment and signs it off as another member or an ADMIN, will be banned.
    Q: But why is it anonymous? I want to see who left that rep!

    The reason it is anonymous is to keep the system fair. Some people may see a negative rep and decide that they want to pay back the person who gave it to them with a negative rep of their own.
    If that happened, then the whole system would fall down. Basically, leave you name you if choose, or don't. If you do get a negative rep, either take it on the chin and deal with it, OR if it does seem malicious and unwarranted, contact DaveW or Crimson Sky by Private Message and discuss it with them. Don't start a whiny post saying you got negative repped. Be polite to the Admin team and explain why you think it it wasn't deserved, and maybe, just maybe they will go in and have a look an remove it for you.
    Do it every time you get a negative rep and you'll be ignored. Usually there is a reason for getting one. Think about it and deal with it and maybe even change you ways.

    Q: Can't the Admin Team at least screen the Negative Reps before they go out to make sure they are fair?

    No they can't. There is no way for them to do that, and even if there was, don't you think they have better things to do than check every single rep?
    The whole point of the system is it is user based, for us to make the decisions on us.
    Think of it as self moderation. If you post crap and get a negative rep, you'll probably think a little more before you post next time.

    Q: I don't like the Reputation System. Can I turn it off?

    In short, no.
    The Admin team has the ability to disable the whole system, or hide the reputation boxes, but that would defeat the purpose of the system.
    It is here for members to give opinions on other members.

    Q: Do I win anything for having the most rep? Are there any advantages to it at all?

    No, there is no prize for most rep, nor least rep. However, there is a couple of things you can do once your rep is up to 20 or above.
    You'll be able to upload your signature picture to the site, your Private Message Inbox can hold up to 100 messages and you can have a custom user title under your username.

    Q: I got a single rep, but my number went up (or down) by more than one? What's going on?

    Because users with a high count obviously are doing something right, they have a little more pull when it goes to hand out the points.
    For every 80 rep points they receive, their rep power goes up by 1. So at 81 rep points they received, their vote is worth 2 points, at 161 rep points received, their vote is worth 3 points and so on.
    When the Admin team give out a rep, it have a rep power of 5, so a postive from them will increase your rep by 5 points, and a negative will decrease your reputation by 5.

    Q: Ok, so it's not a competition, but is there anyway to see who has the most/least rep?

    Yes there is. It doesn't have the actual number of rep points the person has received, but you can see a list from most to least, or vice versa.
    Click on the Members List link at the top of the forum, then click on the reputation link at the top of the members list.
    It will show from most rep, to least for all members, or click on the blue arrow to show least rep to most rep.


    Q: So that's all there is to know, huh?

    I think so. If I think of more, or I learn more, I'll add to this.
    Last edited by Bucko; 07-11-2007 at 01:05 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Crimson Sky View Post
    hahaha..."Wacky"
    -Wackello Capello

  2. #2
    Case Modding MoFo Crimson Sky's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bucko's guide and FAQ for the Rep System

    Awesome guide, Bucko!. Thanks for the hard work and for keeping the spirit.

    I also must say I'm impressed that 96% of the reps being handed out by our regulars are positive. Keep up the + attitude!
    In a time of chimpanzees I was a monkey.

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