Rep abuse

[Reverend]

Proves what point? Didn't you see the j/k; in case you don't know what that means it means joking. Meant as a jab against the people ticked off about receiving -rep.

Yes, I knew you were joking but I took what you said as an example that I think it's easier for folks to neg-rep than to pos-rep.

 

[Geo]

Yes, I knew you were joking but I took what you said as an example that I think it's easier for folks to neg-rep than to pos-rep.

Ya think? How would that explain why I've given you zero neg rep and 6 pos rep since the program began?

 

[Reverend]

Why, thank you Geo. Like I said, it's just my opinion. Dammit, now you've made me want to go check my rep...

 

[BRiT]

People, having a great rep on an internet forum means NOTHING for your life.

LIES!

REP > LIFE

 

[Pete]

Has it worked? Can you provide proof that it has worked?

I think the fact that Deusp started this thread b/c he was upset by neg reps and yet has enough pos reps to show a net gain (all in one month here!) proves it at least won't chase away people who post intelligently.

the rep system is just wishful thinking, which causes problems and wastes time, B3D's time (like this thread and many others of the same theme).

Spam and bad jokes and fake benchmarks waste our time, too, yet we soldier on.

This topic has been a pet peeve of mine. The B3D staff knows this. Example :

Now that sounds like it may be bordering on rep abuse (just hatin' a dude so much to neg rep every post), but that's a story for another thread--or better yet, for a private conversation with the mods.

No, I don't care if a neg-rep carries 1/3 or 1/10 weight. I simply want to know why it's bothers me, and many others, when I/we get neg-reps and waste your time with threads like this. I would also like to know why I/we never self-congratulate when we get pos-reps. Can B3D staff answer this while looking at themselves in the mirror?

Will typing while looking at the mirror behind me suffice? Seriously, neg reps bother me, too, but I don't think the purpose of B3D is to analyze why. (You could try being as verbosely polite as possible while disagreeing, as I do.) As for self-congratulate, do you mean start threads on how much we love getting pos reps?

I can't be bothered to check it but Rys himself gave me a pos-rep for my starting a topic about reputation

THAT BASTARD.

I'm sorry but it's my opinion that the very existence of the "neg rep" within the current rep system here turns off folks more than it does to encourage "better posting behaviour".

Sounds like a sensible supposition, but can you prove it? :sly:

I only want a B3D I can feel comfortable participating in, with the least amount of distractions that do nothing but waste time. Your preference may differ.

You're a man after my own character, though minimizing time-wasting distractions on a public forum on the very public internet sounds like a losing battle. If your main problem is that one repetitive neg-repper, why not disable rep and ignore him? Don't we have an ignore function for that precise purpose?

I agree that the rep system may not be as perfect as some envision, but I also believe that it takes a back seat to the forum content itself. And I'm not sure all neg repping is as petty and pointless as it seems to be made out to be, but then I haven't experienced enough to say with any authority.

My point being, and this basically goes to Deusp, too (I had a whole thing typed up but my browser ate it), is that you could try putting less stock in the rep system. It's there, just like the forum colors are there. If you don't like it, ignore it. I really can't imagine it affects your posting here to any significant degree. If you disagree so strongly with another member's neg reps, then maybe you'll find it useful to be presented with such an obvious reason to pay them less mind in the future.

I disabled my rep upon becoming a pseudo-mod, and it didn't affect me one bit. I only just turned it back on mainly b/c I was curious if any of the junk I'd posted since had tickled or scratched anyone. So, I was curious about it, but it wouldn't have affected me either way. Really, my only fascination is whether Geo's runaway rep will start to screw with the forum formatting.

Look, the pos reps I've gotten have been nice (and appreciated) but I didn't think I'd contributed anything to this forum worth remark, and certainly not compared to quite a few others. The first neg rep I got inflamed my righteous indignation, but it still meant squat in the long run. Long story short, try not to be so sensitive to such a secondary aspect of the forum. As for wasting staff time with the rep system, I wonder if more hasn't been spent gabbing about grammatical slips and site design.

But I haven't gotten as many neg reps as you two, so I won't stop you from making your complaints heard and won't complain myself if you succeed in reforming or removing the rep system. Me, I just think it's a somewhat nifty reward for regular contribution that's as open to misuse and misinterpretation as anything else.

 

[Reverend]

First off, one of my posts on this page may have appeared aggressive towards the B3D staff due to the words I used but that's not my intention; my complaint is simply about the rep system at B3D. I know what the rep system is supposed to do/encourage but I don't think the success rate is worth the trouble it has caused (by virtue of the rep threads here as well as my own personal experience). Now, B3D may not mind all these rep threads here but the fact remains that the rep system strikes a chord with those that have bothered to raise it as threads here.

I think the fact that Deusp started this thread b/c he was upset by neg reps and yet has enough pos reps to show a net gain (all in one month here!) proves it at least won't chase away people who post intelligently.

Pete, I don't think Deusp is all that concerned about the length of his rep bar (=net gain). He is concerned about neg rep, about its validity. Rather than "chaing him away", the more likely thing to happen is that he will be not like what he sees here. No, he's not some big-shot developer or a IHV personnel but he is hoping to be a community member, like many others I think. Like you said below, any neg rep you receive bothers you. In case you didn't get what I was trying to say : I can/tend to forget about ALL the pos reps I may have gotten once I got a neg rep that I don't personally think is deserved (anyone else that has the same feeling/opinion, raise your hands). Keyword being "personally". That is why folks get all worked up (I do, when a guy with a huge amount of posts and long rep bar is my exclusive neg-repper...) about the rep system, presumably not only here but anywhere where a rep system exists.

Spam and bad jokes and fake benchmarks waste our time, too, yet we soldier on.

Those are completely different matters IMO. We're talking about something (rep system) that B3D can directly control and is the owner of.

Seriously, neg reps bother me, too, but I don't think the purpose of B3D is to analyze why. (You could try being as verbosely polite as possible while disagreeing, as I do.)

I think B3D should at least see if the rep system is working all that well -- Rys may well be satisfied with it but I'm not and neither are a few that have complained about it and we are all entitled to express our opinions on it, right? IMO I think it also means analyzing why folks raise all these rep-based threads here which usually are about how folks don't like neg-reps. They come up every once in a while. Why do folks do that if the rep system "works"? Is it because these complainants are new? I'm not, and I think I have provided valid points to consider.

THAT BASTARD.

I was referring to a thread about the rep system I started before Rys was B3D. I was asking if the rep system was working according to why it was implemented by B3D. Rys' pos rep comment was that the rep system deserves further discussion (or something like that, very long ago).

Sounds like a sensible supposition, but can you prove it? :sly:

One of the "side-effects" the rep system is supposed to do, beyond encouraging good posting behaviour, is to reduce moderation. Correct? Has the rep system :

a) generally improved posting behaviours;
b) generally reduced the necessity for moderation?

No, I can't prove "the very existence of the "neg rep" within the current rep system here turns off folks more than it does to encourage "better posting behaviour".".

Neither can I disprove it. Can you?

You're a man after my own character, though minimizing time-wasting distractions on a public forum on the very public internet sounds like a losing battle.

So, basically, you agree the rep system (which is supposed to do, as one reason for its implementation, what you described) don't and won't ever work, right?

If your main problem is that one repetitive neg-repper, why not disable rep and ignore him? Don't we have an ignore function for that precise purpose?

Mine is disabled. That doesn't mean I can't provide feedback on what I don't think is or isn't working in this forum.

I agree that the rep system may not be as perfect as some envision

And the award for the "Understatement of The Year" goes to...

, but I also believe that it takes a back seat to the forum content itself.

No one is disputing or arguing about this. However, how can it help if one thinks (=keyword) he is being neg-repped unjustifiably for a post he made? Isn't the rep system supposed to show or indicate whether you are helping to improve the content of the forum?

If I regularly posted comments Mr Developer emails me and I get neg-repped (and I have) for "name dropping", which is better?

a) I respect the rep system (since the neg rep is part of a rep system that B3D deems to be good), I stop posting what a game developer writes me (relevant, irrelevant stuff... doesn't matter... nobody complains when I post relevant stuff but I see complaints when I post not-so-relevant stuff... where is the justice?), which must surely be a loss to this forum and its community (whether or not I'm seeking "fame", ridiculous as it sounds to me due my tenure here), or;

b) I ignore that neg-rep (=rep system) and continue to post developer tid-bits and continue to receive neg-reps/insults/abuse?

What am I supposed to do if the rep system is supposed to tell me what I'm supposed to do but I have these questions?

My point being, and this basically goes to Deusp, too (I had a whole thing typed up but my browser ate it), is that you could try putting less stock in the rep system. It's there, just like the forum colors are there. If you don't like it, ignore it.

Ah, good recommendation.

I really can't imagine it affects your posting here to any significant degree.

Then what on earth is it for??

If you disagree so strongly with another member's neg reps, then maybe you'll find it useful to be presented with such an obvious reason to pay them less mind in the future.

You'tre skipping the main issue here, whicb is about the rep system. Not about ignoring the rep system. I can recommend to everyone to disable theirs but the fact remians that I need to, because the rep system exists and we get a thread like this and similar threads in the past.

Long story short, try not to be so sensitive to such a secondary aspect of the forum.

You are saying the rep system is not worth considering IOW? Is it possible for B3D tyo ban any discussions about its rep system?

As for wasting staff time with the rep system, I wonder if more hasn't been spent gabbing about grammatical slips and site design.

It may be so but I don't think those things affect anyone as emotionally as the rep system, which is the main point.

Me, I just think it's a somewhat nifty reward for regular contribution that's as open to misuse and misinterpretation as anything else.

What is the "reward"?

 

[Rangers]

It seems to me that every post I make that struck a nerve, I get negative rep. I see the people on the other side of the debate make similar post, yet alas they have amazingly high rep. I sense a double standard here. Shouldn't you just disable negative rep altogether to prevent abuse?

PS: Why can't I give or take any rep?

I have noticed it seems those who have been here a while, if they get high rep, tend to be impervious to rep damage for all intents and purposes. IE, if they 5 or 6 blue bars, they can make all the snotty posts they want, you cant bring them back down, as an individual rep probably barely affects them at all.

Personally I've never given rep, pretty sure I cant.

 

[Reverend]

I have noticed it seems those who have been here a while, if they get high rep, tend to be impervious to rep damage for all intents and purposes. IE, if they 5 or 6 blue bars, they can make all the snotty posts they want, you cant bring them back down, as an individual rep probably barely affects them at all.

You can prove this, right?

 

[Rys]

I think this thread has run its course. We're in the middle of taking a look at how things work around here in terms of rep, so we'll reopen general discussion when the changes have been made. No promises on a date or time, other than 'soon'.

Bear with us while we make the adjustments.