There seems to be an issue with the reputation system. Intermittent, of course. Sometimes, you will get a negative point when it was meant to be a positive point. Ill try and track it down.
Im also going to work on the chat system over the next couple days, mostly in the morning when its slowest.
As you can see, Bob, I got hit with a couple of negs, and I can testify that they bite. But then recently I put my big foot into my big mouth, with a very nasty outcome for which I am mortified, so I do feel I deserved those bites. On the other hand, I have broad sholders and a thicker than average skin, so I am able to just laugh this stuff off and carry on.
Hauling my negative rep around is like Marley’s ghost, cursed to drag his chain up and down those stone stairs year after year.
All the same I won’t try to deny I have a vested interest in this, but it is really only a very small one, since personally I don’t take it that seriously.
However, from a psychological perspective, having the negative option is actually a bad idea.
The positive rep option and the Thanks button are both good. The neg thing is going to hurt thin-skinned people, which is to say, most folks. It also gives the mean-spirited a ready way to strike out at someone with anonymity and impunity. Getting hit by a neg can be very discouraging, and may even drive some members away from your site. The Neg button puts a very ugly weapon in the wrong hands. Personally I would never use it under any circumstances. Even one neg rep it could spoil someone’s whole day.
And it will not improve anyone’s outlook or behaviour, so there’s absolutely nothing to be gained by it.
Meanwhile, seeing that they can earn good rep points will encourage people to try to behave better.
Knowing what I know of psychology, which is quite a lot, actually, if I were in your shoes I wouldn’t try to fix the neg button.
I’d just remove it.
I personally like Bob’s outlook on the negative reputation as telling people ahead of time how much weight their postings may carry. If someone has a lot of positive points , Thank yous and reputation, I may tend to look at their post more frequently than a poster who has 0 thanks and a negative reputation.
In the case of some one who only has a few negative points and a lot of positive I will think first but see that maybe they slipped a bit and are now back on track contributing to the forums.
And with your first paragraph, the system seems to be working just fine.
Well, Dave, here’s a ready case in point.
I just got an e-mail telling me I had added rep as a result of that post, so I come over here to check it out and woah! It’s a negative hit. For the post above here, no kidding!
I don’t know who hit me, of course, and I don’t know what there could be in my post for anyone to object to. I’ve learned nothing from the experience of taking another negative rep hit, but it seems that some oaf around here got some jollies. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same guy had given me all three - I don’t know what the context was that I got any of them. This is a significant flaw in what is in any case, plain bad psychology. I expect Bob will, on due consideration, go along with me on this.
Oh, I did learn some maths: The hit lowered my rep-ratio from 7.5 to 1; to 5 to 1, which is pretty substantial, I think anyone would agree.
As I said, it sucks but I can take it on the chin, but most folks couldn’t. The source of the irritation, after all, is contemptible. Neither you nor Bob have had the experience of being hit. I would never be the one to give it to you, either - I hope you never have the experience.
My point is that nothing is gained from the neg rep button, except maybe by the kind of folk you probably don’t really want hanging around here anyway; on the contrary, something is lost: by the victim, by the site owner, and, in a spiritual sense by the culprit as well, each time he hits a fellow with it.
My 2c.
John,
I’m surprised you have time to worry about this.
Look at the bright side, even with three negatives, your reputation is still 1.66666666667 points higher than mine. 
John - You say that you don’t know who gave you the rep points, plus or minus. I remember getting notified (In Updates at the top of the screen) when I got points and who gabve them and for what post.
Also - note what Bob said above. Sometimes giving a Plus point actually goes in the record as a minus point. He’s tracking that one down.
H-J and DJ It’s good that you have joined in here. Your comments prompt me to clarify the situation.
H-J: I just got another neg hit, making my total 4. I haven’t the slightest idea why, since I have posted only on this thread. As you can see that has somewhat reduced my ratio even further, It’s now down to 4.25:1. I really don’t expect you to appreciate this in a personal way until you get a negative hit, a thing I hope you do not have to experience, but it would make you a great deal more sensitive to the issue. I am at a disadvantage here because I refuse to give anyone this negative experience. I have time for this because it’s bad for LSC to have a negative rep button at all, and because it seems I am getting a lot more experience of it than perhaps anybody else! Remember, I have no idea who is doing this or why (nor do I want to know, but you may be certain I don’t suspect you!
D.J: Thanks for your suggestion. I tried the updates, but they seem to direct me only to a post on this thread; they do not identify the button-pusher.
The reputation system has been fixed, and Ive removed the three bad records.
Some facts of life, since people wernt paying attention last week.
The reputation system is here to stay. Period. The site as a whole was unable to police itself, so I have put in place tools to aid in enforcing said policing. Dont like it, go somewhere else. I have ZERO patience for nonsense anymore. See rant from last week.
The reputation system cannot be abused long-term. I know who is giving who rep points, I look every day. There is no one person giving negative points, though a couple users are handing out positive points like chicklets.
John LF,
There’s another thread in this section concerning this topic. In that one I summed up my attitude like this
And where’s the connection to ratings? Ratings are mostly arbitrary and subjective. However I never expected to win a beauty, popularity or PC contest and at my age it’s too late to start worrying about it.
Along that same theme, over on Face Book “Likes” are thrown around like confetti, doesn’t mean one has to. I don’t, unless it is, either very funny - in which case I even “share” it for others to have a good laugh - or it is spot on topic and hasn’t been mentioned before. Same goes for “Friends”, I get a real chuckle out of those participants who have hundreds of “Friends”, sometimes I even have a look who those “Friends” are especially in cases when someone with that many friends would like to join our closed https://www.facebook.com/groups/FriendsOfRhB/ group. Some people collect groups and friends like others do beer caps.
I’m not losing sleep over getting negative hits, it will happen… I’m not here for a popularity contest, just to learn and share, and give back some of all the help I got from the forum and helpful folk.
Greg
Bob McCown said:
The reputation system has been fixed, and Ive removed the three bad records.
Some facts of life, since people wernt paying attention last week.
The reputation system is here to stay. Period. The site as a whole was unable to police itself, so I have put in place tools to aid in enforcing said policing. Dont like it, go somewhere else. I have ZERO patience for nonsense anymore. See rant from last week.
The reputation system cannot be abused long-term. I know who is giving who rep points, I look every day. There is no one person giving negative points, though a couple users are handing out positive points like chicklets.
It would seem that someone might be abusing the “positive” points.
When someone has 100 more positive points than our host has, in such a short time period, something doesn’t quite “smell” right.
Ralph
It seems that Bob is already aware, as evidenced by the last sentence you quoted yourself.
Is this upsetting you Ralph? I think I would be more concerned with people who, when they get a negative point, instead of reflecting why, just want to “lash back” with negative points themselves.
To me that’s somewhat more concerning, although I say only “somewhat”… I don’t live my life through LSC. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Greg
Mista B, it seems to me that those are the folks that are ‘Legends in their own minds’.
This ought to be good for one more negative…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
The fact that you cannot give yourself a reputation point, invalidates what you said.
The fact that you apparently posted only to say something negative about someone is telling.
Greg
Greg, do you have a guilty conscience? That is the only reason a response of that nature would be made.
Everyone, give it a rest.
Geebuz. We have a great railroad site here, full of great modelers, photographers, videographers, electrical wizards, and everything in between, and some of you have to find something to piss and moan about. I swear, Some of you guys would find a bag of money on your front steps and complain about the color of the rubber bands holding it together.
Bob McCown said:
Some of you guys would find a bag of money on your front steps and complain about the color of the rubber bands holding it together.
Good one! (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Nice one BOB!
My sense of humor and tolerance for stupidity on the site is well below zero, and I would have thought that it was obvious by now.
Bob McCown said:
Everyone, give it a rest.
My apologies for bringing it up.
Personally I’d rather not have the points system at all.
But since you said it was here to stay, I just thought I should point out that something wasn’t quite right.
It wasn’t my intention to “stir the pot”.
I guess a PM would have been more appropriate.
Ralph
