Trialing reputation

Hey guys, as some of you may have noticed I've made a slight tweak to what we used to know as the points system in the forum. I made this change a few days ago and sort of forgot haven't had time to make a post explaining what's going on yet.

Basically instead of getting 'points' for making new topics, making new posts, etc, I thought that it might be better to implement the reputation system instead. The way this works is next to every post (in between the text and the person's avatar) there's a little + / - button which you can press if you like (or don't like) what that person has written. If you vote someone + then their reputation will go up, and likewise a - will bring their reputation down. It's not rocket science... you can even give this post a quick + if you still don't get it

Additionally, when you get at least 3 rep (I think), you'll get a 'thanks' button above other people's post which you can press. 'Thanking' someone grants them rep and is also visible on the post.

I thought to replace points with reputation because the points system was pretty much running parallel with post count (maybe a few points difference if you made a few new topics or something), and was mostly useless other than that. Although we're a small forum and this may seem a bit useless, I think the rep system will still be fun and maybe encourage more quality content here. And besides, who doesn't love more imaginary internet points??

Keep in mind that the rep system is just a trial. If we decide we don't like it, then we'll take it off and maybe even bring points back if people still liked that. For now, everyone is starting off at 0 reputation. Now it'll be good to see some community-based reputation achievements rather than post-based points achievements. And remember, don't abuse this. Vote posts up if they are good quality, discussion-creating, or thought-provoking, and vote down posts if they are abusive, off-topic, or rude. Pleeaaase DO NOT do stuff like up-vote a post just because your friend wrote it, or don't down-vote a post just because you disagree with it. The reputation system is designed to show who some quality, active posters are on the forums that step outside of just having a huge post count.

Happy foruming

PS. You have to have at least 5 posts before you can vote on posts for any new members who may be confused!

PPS. No you can't vote on your own posts

If people solely based their voting of my posts on their opinions, I don't have any idea what my reputation would be like. I alway introduce crazy ideas or say rather controversial stuff

This is a great way to keep involvement with the forum! I like rep poitns, and it's widely used accross almost every site I frequent. Change approved :3