NEW FEATURE - USER REPUTATION SYSTEM

[John Stone]

I have enabled a new forum feature that I'd like to try out: The User Reputation System.

In this thread I'll give an overview of the system and explain how everything works. It's actually quite straightforward.


What is reputation?
Reputation is simply a method of recognizing those users who you've found to be helpful. The reputation icon will be visible in posts.

Reputation may be positive or neutral . Negative reputation has been disabled: the purpose of this system is to thank members who have been helpful, not to tear other members down.

Neutral reputation is only given when the person giving reputation does not meet the minimum criteria to affect someone else's reputation. More on that below.


How do I give reputation?
To give reputation, click on the reputation icon in the relevant post. This will reveal a form to complete with the reputation type and the reason for giving the reputation (optional). You may not give reputation for the same post twice.


How do I know what reps I have received?
You can view the reps you have been awarded in your User CP (User Control Panel); they are displayed at the bottom of your User CP page. The last 20 reps you have received will be shown.

Your total reputation score will be shown in your posts, as well as a series of reputation indicators in your posts and profile. The more positive your reputation, the more positive (green) icons will be shown. All users start with a reputation score of 10 (Level 1). There are a total of 11 reputation levels.


How many reputation points can I give? What is reputation power?
The number of reputation points that you give another member is based on your "Reputation Power". Every user who is elegible to give out positive reps starts with a rep power of 1. The value of the reputation power is then determined as follows:

1. For each year of membership (since join date) user gain 1 point of reputation-altering power.
2. For every 1000 posts, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power.
3. For every 500 points of reputation, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power.

So, for example, if you have been a member for 3 years and 2 months, have 4,321 posts and have been awarded 3,011 rep points by your fellow members, your total "Reputation Power" would be 14 (1+3+4+6 = 14). In other words, you would add 14 points to someone else's reputation score each time you decided to "rep" someone.


Is there anything else I should know?
Yes:

- You must have 50 posts in order for your reputation to count on other people. Until you have 50 posts, your reputation power is 0, and points will show up as grey dots (neutral).

- You may only give out a maximum of 10 reputations per day. Don't waste them!

- You cannot give the same person reps again until you have given rep points to at least 20 other people. This discourages friends from artificially inflating their scores.

- Intentional abuse of the system will result in your rep points being reset.


Opting out of the reputation system
Participation in the Reputation system is completely voluntary. If you would like to opt out, then you can disable your reputation rating. This is done in User Control Panel under "edit options". Just uncheck the "Show Your Reputation Level" option and then save your settings.

People will still be able to give you reps, but no one will be able to see them but you. If you ever change your mind and decide that you'd like to participate, just re-check the "Show Your Reputation Level" option and save. You won't lose any rep points by opting out.

[optheta]

Another reason for me to stay lurk on the forms more!! Anyways nice addition john

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by optheta

Another reason for me to stay lurk on the forms more!!

I'm curious, why do you say that? It was my hope that this feature would encourage more posting.

[optheta]

I meant that it would cause me to post more, Which isnt a bad thing obviously lol. BTW your avatar scares me :P .

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by optheta

I meant that it would cause me to post more, Which isnt a bad thing obviously lol.

OK, cool. That's what I was hoping to hear.

BTW, "lurking" means reading without posting. That's what threw me off.

[docutech]

I may be mistaking but haven't we discussed this feature once before?

I am against the rep feature for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the fact that everyone is different when it comes to fitness and nutrition. What works for me may not work for others. Many times people offer their oppinions (many times backed by scientific or factual information) yet there are those who will still dissagree with what a poster is saying. Disabling the negative rep feature only adds to the inacuracy of the whole rep thing. You can be helpfull but if someone doesn't agree... well you are out of luck.

This rep feature can be abused as well. There will be individuals who on a regular basis will bump rep to the next guy. Subtlety is the name of the game. If you, John, have the time to monitor this then by all means give it a try but I simply do not see an effective means of distinguishing who is abusing the system and who isn't.

Lastly, "I have more rep power than you" may turn some people away and cause them not to post.

There are a ton of individuals here including you who have documented amazing transformations. I think those results are all the reputation that one needs.

Just my 2 cents...

[Sparx88]

"I have more rep power than you" may turn some people away and cause them not to post.

That statment made me post right now!

but because you have more rep power than I, I cant imagine I would be taken seriously on anything I post.

All kidding aside, I think it is a great enhancement to an already valueable forum.

[Bluestreak]

Originally Posted by docutech

"I have more rep power than you" may turn some people away and cause them [b]not to post.

I've never been one to give a rat's behind what someone thinks of my opinions. I'm going to post what I'm going to post and that's that - I'll never be one to sugar-coat my responses and the new "rep power" feature isn't going to change that. I've seen this feature on other boards and it does tend to turn into a popularity contest more than anything else. However, JSF has higher standards than other online communities I've participated in, and the tools John provides tend to be taken and utilized for the greater good. I'd like to set a tone of having faith in JSF - and that we'll use the feature well, rather than use it as a leverage when engaging in our usual fitness discussions.

-R

[Sparx88]

Every user starts with a rep power of 1.

[Foley]

Is there any way of seeing who has repped you personally?

EDIT: lern2read. (Found it)

[guava]

Originally Posted by Sparx88

I think that's every user who has at least 50 points posts.

Foley, if you go to the USER C/P, you should be able to see who repped you.

I agree with you docutech; the whole rep system makes me feel competitive about posting, and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

[Foley]

Originally Posted by guava

I think that's every user who has at least 50 points.

Foley, if you go to the USER C/P, you should be able to see who repped you.

I agree with you docutech; the whole rep system makes me feel competitive about posting, and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

Surely it's just about people saying thanks to other people for helpful information. Instead of posting "cheers" they just rep them. I think it should work fine...

[Pete5]

Just my $0.02

I have mixed feelings on the matter. I'd hate to see these forums ever end up like bodybuilding.com. I understand the posting rules are a lot more laid back over there, but those forums have been plagued by many unnecessary issues, due in part to the rep system.

[John Stone]

I appreciate the feedback! Please keep it coming, as I take it all seriously.

I'll give my take on some of the points that have been made.

Originally Posted by docutech

I am against the rep feature for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the fact that everyone is different when it comes to fitness and nutrition. What works for me may not work for others. Many times people offer their oppinions (many times backed by scientific or factual information) yet there are those who will still dissagree with what a poster is saying. Disabling the negative rep feature only adds to the inacuracy of the whole rep thing. You can be helpfull but if someone doesn't agree... well you are out of luck.

I honestly don't see how someone is "out of luck" simply because his or her advice won't necessary result in rep points. Removing the negative reps doesn't make the system "inaccurate"; it merely prevents the whole thing from turning into a grudge war.

In other words, I think you're missing the point of what I'm trying to do here. The spirit of this system (as I have implemented it) is purely to allow members to receive some "permanent" recognition for providing assistance to their peers. To me this is a positive thing that will encourage people to be more helpful and post more.

Originally Posted by docutech

This rep feature can be abused as well. There will be individuals who on a regular basis will bump rep to the next guy. Subtlety is the name of the game. If you, John, have the time to monitor this then by all means give it a try but I simply do not see an effective means of distinguishing who is abusing the system and who isn't.

There are a number of measures in place to prevent abuse of the system. If you read through initial thread, you'll see that it would require a considerable amount of effort to abuse the system; further, rep power is so low until a forum member becomes very well established that I seriously doubt we're going to have much of a problem--especially since the ramifications of getting caught would be to have all points/power reset to their starting values. Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to just to lose all the points, or even get banned.

Originally Posted by docutech

Lastly, "I have more rep power than you" may turn some people away and cause them not to post.

Are you saying you think the members here would flaunt their scores like that? I strongly disagree with that. Maybe I'm being overly-optimistic, but I think the members here are above that sort of BS.

Anyway, if something like that came to my attention then I would put a stop to it.

Originally Posted by docutech

Just my 2 cents...

I very much appreciate your input, even if I don't agree with it.

Reps for you, bro.

Originally Posted by Bluestreak

However, JSF has higher standards than other online communities I've participated in, and the tools John provides tend to be taken and utilized for the greater good. I'd like to set a tone of having faith in JSF - and that we'll use the feature well, rather than use it as a leverage when engaging in our usual fitness discussions.

I share your faith in our members.

Originally Posted by Sparx88

I will re-word that to make it more clear. Every member who is eligible to give reps (50 posts or more) starts with a power of 1.

Originally Posted by Foley

Surely it's just about people saying thanks to other people for helpful information. Instead of posting "cheers" they just rep them. I think it should work fine...

I think so too, and that's basically it in a nutshell.

Originally Posted by guava

I agree with you docutech; the whole rep system makes me feel competitive about posting, and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

I think you're looking at it in the wrong light. There are way too many variables for it to be a real "competition" anyway. It's just a way for people to give credit where credit is due. I see this as a purely positive thing.

Originally Posted by Pete5

I have mixed feelings on the matter. I'd hate to see these forums ever end up like bodybuilding.com. I understand the posting rules are a lot more laid back over there, but those forums have been plagued by many unnecessary issues, due in part to the rep system.

I've tried to take steps to avoid that. Believe me, if I see it getting out of hand I'll turn it off as quickly as I turned it on.

[IROC-Z]

Originally Posted by Pete5

Just my $0.02

I have mixed feelings on the matter. I'd hate to see these forums ever end up like bodybuilding.com. I understand the posting rules are a lot more laid back over there, but those forums have been plagued by many unnecessary issues, due in part to the rep system.

Agreed 100%. This whole "rep" thing is the very reason why I stopped participating in some other fitness forums. I hate popularity contests, and unfortunately that's usually what this stuff tends to turn into. If this was any other site, I would probably stop participating immediately. Because this is my favorite fitness site, and because of the highly professional manner in which this site is run - I am going to try to approach this new feature with an open mind.

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by IROC-Z

Agreed 100%. This whole "rep" thing is the very reason why I stopped participating in some other fitness forums. I hate popularity contests, and unfortunately that's usually what this stuff tends to turn into. If this was any other site, I would probably stop participating immediately. Because this is my favorite fitness site, and because of the highly professional manner in which this site is run - I am going to try to approach this new feature with an open mind.

Well, I certainly don't want to alienate anyone or cause people to leave over this. Most forums are run a lot looser than this forum, and the members here tend to be a lot more mature than some other forums I've been on. If this turns into anything less than a positive addition to the forum, it will be removed. You have my word on that.

I hope everyone is at least amenable to giving it a test run for a few months. Let's see how things shake out. I'm pretty sure we're going to have an overwhelmingly positive or negative consensus in a few months.

[IROC-Z]

Originally Posted by John Stone

Well, I certainly don't want to alienate anyone or cause people to leave over this. Most forums are run a lot looser than this forum, and the members here tend to be a lot more mature than some other forums I've been on. If this turns into anything less than a positive addition to the forum, it will be removed. You have my word on that.

I hope everyone is at least amenable to giving it a test run for a few months. Let's see how things shake out. I'm pretty sure we're going to have an overwhelmingly positive or negative consensus in a few months.

I'm willing to give it a try. This is by far the best fitness site on the net, and that's the reason why I'm keeping an open mind about the "rep" feature.

BTW - Thank you for hosting this site John. It's a privilege to be a part of such a great community!

[modmaven]

I was bold about posting from day one; I'm quite an extrovert. But this rep thing immediately intimidates me. I don't like the idea of having a number by the side of my post that indicates what my supposed reputation is. I don't see any benefit to it, none whatsoever, that couldn't be had by reading through JSF carefully and seeing who's words carry a lot of weight. I could tell within a very short while who was helpful and who wasn't.

John and others note that JSF members are above the BS that would lead them to game the system. For that very reason, JSF members don't need a rep system.

If you want to do it, John, go ahead. But I'm going to do my best to ignore it. I'll continue to convey whose reputation I respect -- but with words, not numbers.

I appreciate your good intentions, but I just think this is a mis-step.

[KT Monahan]

How about a JSF Hall of Fame?

John Stone

Chicanerous

Zenpharos

1FastGTX

Rtestes

Mastover

That could just be the first few inductees.

[John Stone]

Here's an idea for those of you who are not keen on the reputation system: what if I made participating completely voluntary?

In other words, I can make it so that you could choose to "opt out" of the whole rep system. Nothing would stop someone who is participating from giving you rep points, but no one but you would be ever able to see the number of rep points you have.

Would this be a happy compromise? I can implement this tonight.