discussion What does reputation mean to you? [poll]

[Koloss17 She/They]

So this will be a twofold post with two main questions being asked. This is not a post to change anyone’s opinions or prompt more or less reputation giving/farming. This is just a fun little question that I think is a cool thing to learn about. 
 

So the first question is this: how do you folks decide what deserves reputation given? We only get 15 reputation givings daily, which might be seen as too much or too limiting dependent on how liberal you are with reputation distribution. I will hide my opinion on this, so that others can choose not to be affected by it in their answer.

Spoiler

Personally, I am quite giving and Willy-nilly with giving reputation, and will give it to someone who reponds to me or someone that I feel contributes to any conversation. I’m actually much more comfortable with giving reputation on this site, compared to other social media platforms.

The next question is how much do you care about reputation? Is it something you are quite fond of? Do you think it’s kind of silly? Why do you think that? My response is spoilered below.

Spoiler

I’m actually quite fond of my rep, mostly due to the titles. I find them incredibly fun, and I feel I have an incentive to make things that are worthy of reputation giving just to increase the title. My likeability in the shard is nice to know, but the book titles are more fun.

 I am also interested in if these things are actually different from other social media sites you use. I find this platform to be very different in feel from places like Discord or Reddit. I think it helps how small the community is. 
 

Well, feel free to answer any of the questions with any amount of reason you want to give. This is purely out of curiosity and interest in how other sharders navigate the site’s rep system.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Ookla the Headmuncher

[Robin Sedai she/her]

Question one -

Spoiler

I give reputation a lot, usually things that I find interesting or funny. For example, I upvoted this post because it made me think and I enjoyed answering it.

Question two -

Spoiler

At least once a day. Even if I don't post anything, I check my notifications.

Question three -

Spoiler

I like it, because it's a visible sign that people find what I post funny, interesting, or helpful. I don't actually care about the titles that much, though I'll notice when I have a cool one.

Other social media -

Spoiler

Rep is more fun on the Shard. It's a small community, and chances are the person who upvoted me is someone who I know, like, and interact with regularly.

I'm also on Reddit a lot, and it's fun to look at my comments and see how many upvotes they get. (And if anyone downvotes me I take it way too personally lol.)
I wouldn't say I post just to get upvotes, because I really enjoy discussing the things I talk about there. But it's definitely a factor.

I don't really post on Twitter. So if someone likes a reply of mine it's nice, but beyond that I don't give it any thought.

Sorry for the long answer, I'm procrastinating homework

Edited October 30, 2023 by Robin Sedai

[Koloss17 She/They]

40 minutes ago, Robin Sedai said:

Question one -

  Hide contents

I give reputation a lot, usually things that I find interesting or funny. For example, I upvoted this poll because it made me think and I enjoyed answering it.

Question two -

  Hide contents

At least once a day. Even if I don't post anything, I check my notifications.

Question three -

  Hide contents

I like it, because it's a visible sign that people find what I post funny, interesting, or helpful. I don't actually care about the titles that much, though I'll notice when I have a cool one.

Other social media -

  Hide contents

Rep is more fun on the Shard. It's a small community, and chances are the person who upvoted me is someone who I know, like, and interact with regularly.

I'm also on Reddit. There, I'll compare how many upvotes different posts get. It's interesting. (And if anyone downvotes me I take it personally.)
I wouldn't say I post just to get upvotes, because I really enjoy discussing the things I talk about there. But it's definitely a factor.

I don't really post on Twitter. So if someone likes a reply of mine it's nice, but beyond that I don't give it any thought.

Sorry for the long answer, I'm procrastinating homework

All great answers! And yes, work of any sort can be a pain. I suppose that’s what books are for! 

[Morningtide she/her]

Robin I'm stealing your format because it's effective

Question 1: 

Spoiler

I often hit the rep limit, mostly because giving rep is how I say I like something you said. So I give rep to basically anything that I think makes a good point or is funny or I enjoyed reading. 

Question 2: 

Spoiler

I'm on at least once a day. Whenever I'm bored and don't have immediate access to a book, I get on and check my notifications and sometimes post. 

Question 3: 

Spoiler

I think it's cool, I guess. I don't pay that much attention to how much rep I or anyone else has. I just like it because it's a good way to tell if you or anyone else made a good point or something. 

 

[Koloss17 She/They]

15 minutes ago, Ookla the Theoretical said:

Robin I'm stealing your format because it's effective

Question 1: 

  Hide contents

I often hit the rep limit, mostly because giving rep is how I say I like something you said. So I give rep to basically anything that I think makes a good point or is funny or I enjoyed reading. 

Question 2: 

  Hide contents

I'm on at least once a day. Whenever I'm bored and don't have immediate access to a book, I get on and check my notifications and sometimes post. 

Question 3: 

  Hide contents

I think it's cool, I guess. I don't pay that much attention to how much rep I or anyone else has. I just like it because it's a good way to tell if you or anyone else made a good point or something. 

 

awesome responses! Does your rep-giving tendencies or site activeness differ much from other social media platforms?

[Morningtide she/her]

I don't have any other social media things, other than Goodreads if that counts. But I only use Goodreads to organize my books and keep track of them. So I wouldn't know lol!  

[Returned he/him]

Question 1:

Spoiler

I usually give reputation for well-reasoned posts, good and relevant points, drudgery (like digging up a WoB or posting a proper citation), and good faith engagement with other users. I'm generally pretty free with it; it's not the most meaningful thing and so there isn't much worry about using it too frivolously. I also think that rep is a good way to welcome newer members for their good contributions early on in their time here.

Question 2:

Spoiler

I'm frequently on at least once per day, though there are certainly periods during which I don't log on at all.

Question 3:

Spoiler

I like reputation. It's kind of fun and adds a little extra to being on the site. It also, over longer periods, gives a glimpse of a member's contributions to the forums overall (an imprecise glimpse, but still). People also use reputation to convey meaning, like a post with an argument that people support, without adding posts just to say that.

Question 4:

Spoiler

Reputation is different here than other sites I've used, though I don't spend much time on other sites which use reputation systems at present. It's pretty vague here in terms of what, exactly, it might mean, but that's OK. The Cosmere Q&A system, on the other hand, seems lightly used and often not in ways the upvote/downvote system is clearly intended to be used.

 

[AquaRegia he/him]

Q1:

Spoiler

I agree with @Returned.  I use rep to reward what I see as good behavior - thoughtful posts, good arguments, deep research, and good-faith debate.  Also to encourage new members.

Q2:

Spoiler

Some weeks I'm here every day, other weeks not at all.  I have never once used my daily rep limit, but I also don't read every post in every forum.

Q3:

Spoiler

I love the titles (although mine isn't changing very often anymore).  More important to me is that my rep score tells me that my 17S peers feel I'm making a positive contribution to the community.  This is my tribe!  I'm especially (stupidly, perhaps) proud of the fact that my rep-to-post ratio is greater than 1.

And before you ask, I don't do any other social media that uses rep, so N/A. 

[Mr. Misting he/him]

Q1:

Spoiler

I rarely give out rep. I find that for it to be meaningful I save it for comments or post I find really insightful or funny. I didn't even know there was a reputation limit.

Q2:

Spoiler

I visit basically every single day without fail. Mostly just for the RP I'm in, but I often post on other stuff.

Q3:

Spoiler

Occasionally I get bugged that my ratio is much lower then most other people, but then I remember that I'm using the shard for fun, not to get rep. Whenever I get rep it feels good but I don't really go out of my way to get it. 

 

[AltonicKeys he/him]

Q1

Spoiler

I find rep too valuable, so I don't know if I should give it to the funny post or save it for possibly funnier posts. ~4 per day.

Q2

Spoiler

I'm on the shard every weekday, because I'm in school and it's boring.

Q3

Spoiler

I like rep, but it's not that important. I want to see all the titles, and like it when people give me stuff, but at the end of the day I'm just browsing a forum.

Social media

Spoiler

It's really interesting how rep has a limit. This gives it value, as opposed to how I give out likes willy nilly on other sites.

Very nice post, made me think. Thinking is usually bad, but I liked it this time.

[Treamayne]

Late to the conversation (didn't see this until it was referenced in the "Add Doug" Rep proposal) since I rarely go outside of the Cosmere section*

#1

Spoiler

On 11/23/2022 at 4:29 PM, Koloss17 said:

How much do you care about reputation?

Care about getting rep? Not much (except maybe when it shows that the answer I gave somebody was seen).

Giving? Much more. For reasons discussed below and because it is a shortcut to avoid "me too" and "I agree" posts. I try not to post unless I have something to add, so I do like this feature of giving rep.

#2

Spoiler

On 11/23/2022 at 4:29 PM, Koloss17 said:

How often are you on the shard?

I would say daily, but I'm sure I've missed a few days (and I have only really been active in the last two years or so - though I joined in 2016). So, daily in the poll but more like 360 days/year~ish.

#3

Spoiler

On 11/23/2022 at 4:29 PM, Koloss17 said:

How do you folks decide what deserves reputation given?

Good posts by new Sharders. Helpful posts. Thoughtful post/theories. Defusing posts (back and forth arguing some point - possibly derailing the thread - the person that says something like "hey, we both have a point, lets agree to disagree while waiting on new data" gets the rep.

Basically behaviour I want to encourage - not so much for the person making the post (though they deserve the rep) but for the new Sharder reading an old post two years later who might notice "hey, this post got 5+ rep - maybe I should emulate this kind/courteous/thoughful behaviour."

(I know I learned a lot about the forum dynamics when reading old posts by the mods/admins and others who have been very active for a very long time)

(Anti)Social

Spoiler

On 11/23/2022 at 4:29 PM, Koloss17 said:

[Are] these things are actually different from other social media sites you use?

I'm pretty much only on 17th Shard, MtG Nexus (Forum) and an MtG Discord (no Face-twitter-time, etc.). Of those, only Nexus has a "Thanks" button (thumbs-up) and I use Rep here much more often than I do there (but I also rarely agree with the folks there). It also does not have Titles, so the only rep tracking is badges (total times thanked = Gratious 50/100/250/>500 and Total times giving thanks = Thankful 50/100/250/>500)

Final Comments:

Spoiler

I've noticed the main time I have hit the rep limit is SP release weeks. So many new posts all in a day or three (or more if my reading was delayed and I am trying to catch up on the spoiler discussions that went on during release week).

Probably difficult-to-impossible to implement, but I would love to see a running total system where is it 20/day - and on any day that you use less than 10, your total is now +1. That builds until <new max> or the first time you use them all (which resets to max=20) - that way we could "bank" some extra rep before a release (or other anticipatory event) without skewing the daily factor of everybody having "all the rep" to give. So, for example, ten days of < 10/day would yield one day of 30 max.

 

Edited January 23, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG

[Aeoryi she/her]

Question one:

Spoiler

I give rep to those who deserve it. If you drew an image or spent a lot of time doing something, you get a rep from me. Finding quotes or arcanum stuff also is repworthy.

 

Question 2

Spoiler

I am on the shard for 20 hours a day (not actively on the shard but checked often) especially on weekends

Question 3

Spoiler

I do care about rep. Someone giving me rep means they read my things, and liked it. And that is a good feeling.

Do I think the rep cap deserves to be raised?

Spoiler

No. It doesn't make a large enough difference and rep is nicer when it's rarer

Thank you,

-Aeoliae 

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Question one:

Spoiler

I give a lot of reputation out. Mostly to status updates I think are funny, interesting, or need some sort of recognition. I give it to art too. Though, mostly something that I find abundantly hilarious. I run out of rep soooo muuuuuch. I would love it if the limit was raised at least a little bit higher, like, say, five-ten more.

Question two:

Spoiler

I think it's kinda funny.

But I really love to give it out and the changing titles is just the best thing ever.

I'm very fond of it and would be sad if it was removed.

A shout out:

Spoiler

Go check out Cinnamon's Rep Limit Change Post if you want to hear about more efforts to get us more rep to use to promote our favorite people on the Shard.

 

[ʟɪɢʜʈ]

5 hours ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

Go check out Cinnamon's Rep Limit Change Post if you want to hear about more efforts to get us more rep to use to promote our favorite people on the Shard.

Ha! I thought I gave out rep pretty generously, but I didn’t even realize there was a limit. What is it?

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

12 minutes ago, WitIsThe Best said:

Ha! I thought I gave out rep pretty generously, but I didn’t even realize there was a limit. What is it?

it's 20 as of right now, if I remember correctly.

[Scars of Hathsin he/him]

I never run into the limit, maybe I should give it out sometimes,

I have only given out very few, could probably count the amount on one hand. Which is kind of sad.

Please don't kill me.

[Veledsier]

For me it's really sad to waltz into a new amazing forum... and then not be able to give the best point at the end a rep....

[The Sibling she/her]

I don't really keep track of my reputation but its nice to get it sometimes, especially for art. I don't give out a ton, not because people don't deserve it by because I forget. I feel like I should give out more, I mean I don't think I've ever reached the limit.

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

what does reputation even mean- i have no idea. 

[Robin Sedai she/her]

35 minutes ago, TheRavenHasLanded said:

what does reputation even mean- i have no idea. 

Upvotes, basically. You can give reputation by clicking the orange arrow button next to someone else's post. The total amount of reputation you have is displayed on your profile.

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

oooooohhhhhhh

[ʟɪɢʜʈ]

It’s pretty useful. 

[Experience he/him]

Honestly it matters more to me than it reasonably should

[Scars of Hathsin he/him]

It is nice getting upvoted, and moving through the ranks of Reputation Titles 

 

Yay... 100 posts!

Edited August 17, 2023 by Scars of Hathsin

[Koloss17 She/They]

1 hour ago, Experience said:

Honestly it matters more to me than it reasonably should

Honestly same. Idk why, but seeing funny number go up, WITH nerdy titles? I just can’t resist.