What's the point in having a Rep on here?

[Koopaul]

So I'm noticing now that people are giving positive reps to people ironically when they are angry at them. So I have to ask, what's the point in having reps if its going to be used like this?

Maybe its a feature we don't need anymore?

[Lemonray]

Wasn't the original reason for having it related to the spriting/tsr side of things moreso than the forum in general? I remember this being said, somewhere. Maybe someone can correct me on this.

[Shade]

I see the system constantly used in a genuinely positive way. Lemonray is probably right though as I definitely see it more on the ripping side of the forum. I guess it just comes down to where you're looking.

Also everyone should give me a rep.  

[Gors]

You've been given ironic upreps, but not in vain though. You very much know why it ended like this and it should be taken as a hint on how to improve yourself.

Reps are important to know if you're doing a good thing. You know, when you make things, or rip stuff, or actually have good thoughts overall, you're given this by the community. It's basically, feedback for working, and it's rather nice to have this feedback. And of course, the opposite is true - the negative feedback's point is to know what people don't like about your attitudes that could be worth improving upon.

Granted, there are times when reps are given out in a completely random fashion, but overall I think it's useful for the community, as shade pointed out.

[Kriven]

The whole system has always seemed more like "Here's an easy way for an entire clique to descend upon a single individual who dared to say something which goes against the grain." I mean, rep definitely has the potential to be useful in helping people identify what isn't liked about them/what parts of a social experience they need to improve on, but the way it's been used (and that whole situation Gors talked about with "You know why you have ironic upreps" kind of proves the point...) is detrimental to that cause.

[Gors]

People will always find ways to use a feature in unintended ways, for better or worse. The only way to fully avoid it would be to make it simply a +1 rating for anything, no negatives, and without any text to back it up. But that's not social at all.

as long as the rep transmits the idea the giver wants, which in this case is very obvious, the rep is doing a great job. I can assure that I dont give out rep, positive or negative, in vain. Adding or subtracting without any real meaning is a bigger crime in my point of view

Not that both of these happen often, though. Most of the times it's used perfectly fine.

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[Hiynastrike]

Spoiler

*looks at 17 rep*

Anyone want to give an unfortunate bird person some fake internet points?

Eh.... I barely use it... There might have been a time where it was thrown all over the place I guess VGR doesn't have members like that anymore

[DarkGrievous7145]

some people also just give good reps for completely invalid reasons, like for the hell of it, basically

Kriven has already pointed-out a big problem, a lot of people are using them essentially as a gang-up verbal abuse system


I agree the rep system does have a purpose, but how constructive it's been is at times, extremely debatable

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Spoiler

*looks at 17 rep*

Anyone want to give an unfortunate bird person some fake internet points?

since you asked so nicely
but come to think of it, i can't think of a good reason you don't deserve that, anyways

[Dazz]

The rep system will be removed once MyBB 2.0 is released.

[Petie]

The rep system will be removed once MyBB 2.0 is released.

To clarify, we are not specifically removing it. It's being removed by the developers. So, like or hate the system, it's not long for this world.

[MoneyMan]

shit i think this is actually about me because i accidentally gave a positive rep and not a negative to someone while saying something negative

dont worry it's been fixed

[psychospacecow]

Truth be told, I'm kind of happy rep is going away for an incredibly petty reason. It annoys me when the number isn't divisible by 5 or the result of y x y where y is any number ever.

[Kriven]

shit i think this is actually about me because i accidentally gave a positive rep and not a negative to someone while saying something negative

dont worry it's been fixed

Maybe, but the Irony Uprep has been a thing for a little while now.

[SmithyGCN]

My rep hasn't changed in a year(s?), but I think it's because of my views and such... to reiterate I think. It will be sorely missed anyway, but I won't be sore about it leaving. In hindsight, it gave me the chance to show my appreciation for certain members.

[Koh]

Any system can be abused, so that alone isn't a reason whether or not to have something. But the question then becomes if it's been abused to the point it causes harm, or at least stark controversy within the community. This is also up for debate. Of course it's always been used just because someone disagrees with something someone else said, and other petty shit like that.

Personally, I don't give a damn about it and don't even use it. Who cares what some arbitrary number on someone's profile says? It's about as useless as someone going out and screaming "My youtube comment got 50 likes!" What's important is the content, not the number, and how the person behaves in the community. Are you really going to dismiss someone who actively participates in discussions and never personally attacks other members, but got a bunch of negative points just because they like pony content and other people didn't like it, for example?