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Reputation System -NO LONGER IN USE-

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Mases

Lord of the Flies
Administrator
Site Staff
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Location
West Dundee, IL
-THE REPUTATION SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY NO LONGER IN USE-
You may feel free to completely disregard this thread.





What is Reputation?

Under each users name on the left side of a post, you'll find small heart icons or small skulls. These signify the reputation level of a particular user. The more hearts and other symbols signifies a user with higher reputation, while a skull, or multiple skulls signifies a user with a very low reputation score. All newly registered members start with a reputation score of 10 points, which displays as 1 red heart. Users reputation score is determined by the amount of reputation that other users have given to them.





How do I give a user Reputation?

Under each post on the left side, you'll find a small icon that looks like a six-sided star. After you click this star icon, you can chose to give positive reputation by approving of the post, or giving negative reputation by disapproving of the post. Additionally, there is a small text section for you to leave a comment. If you are giving somebody negative reputation, you must include a reason for doing so. More importantly, give constructive criticism so that the user can learn from his/her mistakes and improve their posting in the future. Also, be sure not to include your name in the comment as reputation is anonymous.





When Should I give Positive or Negative Reputation?

Positive reputation should be given to well thought out posts that contribute positively towards the discussion at hand. Pure length of a post is not the most vital part of a quality post, but it does contribute greatly. Simply agreeing or disagreeing with a members view does not qualify as something worthy of Positive or Negative reputation. Please reserve positive reputation for posts of great quality.

Negative reputation should ALWAYS be constructive. The purpose of negative reputation to begin with is to provide constructive criticism to help users improve their posting quality. Any negative reputation given to a user that includes hurtful language, trolling, flaming, or anything that is counter-constructive, can be considered abuse, and should be reported to Mases. Negative reputation should not be given for minor spelling or grammatical errors. Keep in mind, here at Zelda Dungeon we have members in which English is their second language. However, complete disregard for spelling, grammar, sentence/paragraph structure is grounds for negative reputation, but the user must include constructive advice to help the user. Short/Poor quality posts that do not contribute to the discussion at hand could qualify as posts worthy of negative reputation, but again, constructive comments must be provided.

Positive/Negative Reputation should ONLY be given for that specific post. Do not give reputation for a users profile page, their user name, their signature, or something that was said elsewhere in the forums.





What is Reputation Power and how is it determined?

The amount of points you give or take away from a user when giving them reputation is dependent upon your own reputation power. Your reputation power is determined by three things, and they are listed below.

1. Your own Reputation Score
2. Your Total Post Count
3. How long you have been a registered member

Also, negative reputation is halved when given to another user. For example, if you have Reputation Power of 40 points and you give somebody positive reputation. Their score will increase by 40 points. However, if you give that same user negative reputation, their score will decrease by 20 points, one half of your total reputation power.

Users with skull symbols have a negative reputation score overall. Having a negative reputation score, immediately puts your reputation power at 0. You can still give users reputation, but it will have no effect on their overall score.





Can't the Reputation System be Easily Abused?

The system can be abused, but there are numerous methods that we use to ensure that the reputation works as best as it possibly can.

1. A user can only give 10 total reputations in a single 24-hour time period.
2. If user "A" gives user "B" reputation. User "A" must then give reputation to 9 DIFFERENT other users, before he can give reputation to user "B" a second time.
3. The reputation is monitored by Mases on a daily basis.





What if you Suspect Abuse in the Reputation System?

There are a few ways that the system can be abused.

1. If users collaborate together to give a specific member negative reputation to deflate his reputation score.
2. If users collaborate together to give each other positive reputation to inflate their reputation score.
3. A reputation was given for an entirely unjust reason such as for a reason that has nothing to do with the actual post.

If you suspect users of abusing the system, or if you feel you've received negative reputation unjustly, contact either a super moderator or an administrator. PLEASE NOTE: Positive/Negative Reputation is an opinion of the user giving the reputation. User "C" might think the way a post was worded might come across as completely normal, while User "D" might find something very derogatory about it. Thus, INDIVIDUAL reputations given to a particular user will not by moderated, unless it is an extreme case. However, if there is abuse of the system, the user abusing the system will be penalized.






Why is Reputation Anonymous?

Reputation is completely anonymous and must remain that way. This means, DO NOT include your name/username in comments when giving reputation. Additionally, do not send private/visitor messages to users discussing reputation that you gave, or question reputation that you got.

This is in place to keep the integrity of the reputation system. If it was not anonymous, some users would be more inclined to give positive or reputation to users in which they received such reputation from. Furthermore, the anonymity of the system allows users to give honest/constructive negative reputation, without having to be worried about a user being upset for the reputation.






What is the Purpose of the Reputation System?

The purpose of the reputation system is to reward users who make high quality posts and contribute to our prospering forum community. It is a form of recognizing users of top-quality. Additionally, reputation score is something that is looked upon highly when looking at promotions within the forum staff positions, as well as within the forum leader rankings, such as the Hylian Knight user group. Additionally, high reputation scores, along with other criteria such as your post count and how long you have been a registered member, will grant you access to the shoutbox/chat here at the forums.





What if I don't like the Reputation System and don't want to Participate?

No Problem! While we STRONGLY encourage you to take part in the system by giving quality posts positive reputation, and giving negative constructive reputation when necessary, it is not a requirement. Furthermore, you can chose to disable your own reputation score by clicking Settings > General Settings > Hide Reputation. Users will still be able to give away positive/negative reputation to you, but your score will not appear publicly at all.





My Reputation Was Reset to Default Score? Why?

This is a result of two things. One, abuse of the system, as stated above, results in a manual reduction of reputation score. Furthermore, users who are banned for extended periods of time for breaking rules, or for doing something terrible resulting in their ban, will have their scores reduce back to the default starting score.





Final Note:

We would like users to keep in mind that reputation is not an entirely big deal. If you have bad reputation, don't worry too much about it. If it does concern you, then use the constructive comments to your advantage! If you see something wrong with a post you got negative reputation from, or somebody points the flaw out to you via the comment feature in reputation, then try to fix it in your later posts. By fixing these errors you set yourself up for positive reputation in the future. The negative reputation is aimed at helping users become better posters.



Feel free to post any questions/concerns to me personally via a private message or right here in this thread.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Location
Florida
Mases said:
What if I don't like the Reputation System and don't want to Participate?

No Problem! While we STRONGLY encourage you to take part in the system by giving quality posts positive reputation, and giving negative constructive reputation when necessary, it is not a requirement. Furthermore, you can chose to disable your own reputation score by clicking Settings > General Settings > Hide Reputation. Users will still be able to give away positive/negative reputation to you, but your score will not appear publicly at all.
I'd like to address this part. When the thread about whether to keep or discard the reputation system was up, many members asked about hiding their reputation. We had some people who did tell us that we could hide our reputation, but when the people who asked about it tried to hide their rep, they couldn't find the option.

I was one of the ones who looked for it and didn't find it. I just now checked again to see if the option was available, but it's still not there. I realize that the two people who told us about hiding reputation were staff members, I also asked one other staff member, and she also was able to hide rep, so I think that option right now is only available to the staff.
 

Kybyrian

Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Location
Amherst, MA
Gender
Didn't I already answer this one?
I'd like to address this part. When the thread about whether to keep or discard the reputation system was up, many members asked about hiding their reputation. We had some people who did tell us that we could hide our reputation, but when the people who asked about it tried to hide their rep, they couldn't find the option.

I was one of the ones who looked for it and didn't find it. I just now checked again to see if the option was available, but it's still not there. I realize that the two people who told us about hiding reputation were staff members, I also asked one other staff member, and she also was able to hide rep, so I think that option right now is only available to the staff.

He is correct. So far, the only people I've observed that have been able to hide their reputation are those that are in the "site staff" usergroup. I don't have the option to hide my reputation, either.
 

Mases

Lord of the Flies
Administrator
Site Staff
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Location
West Dundee, IL
I just now checked again to see if the option was available, but it's still not there. I realize that the two people who told us about hiding reputation were staff members, I also asked one other staff member, and she also was able to hide rep, so I think that option right now is only available to the staff.

Thanks for finding this. It's been corrected. It was a user group permissions issue that I missed. All user groups can now hide their reputation.
 

Meego

~Dancer in the Dark~
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Location
England
This looks really good and I'm glad the system isn't gone completey but now things appear to be resolved and if people want to hide their rep then they can and people can continue to use the rep system with a complete understanding of how to use it. Thankyou, Mases! :)
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
Thanks for clearing everything up about rep, it makes a bit more sense (and hopefully the abusers -including me- will look at this thread from time to time), especially that I know the things that make/break rep power.
 

Kybyrian

Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Location
Amherst, MA
Gender
Didn't I already answer this one?
I don't know how to get reputation points can you tell me please?

You can gain reputation points by being a good and active member of the forums. People recognize posters who have exceptional posting quality and give them positive reputation to show that they approve or appreciate their posting. The best advice you can take is to look around the forums for good threads that are able to stimulate some good discussion and offer your views on the subject. Go into depth and explain why you think something; be sure to use proper grammar and spelling, as this is one of the biggest things a lot of our most respected forum users notice. Those with a larger reputation count also give and subtract more reputation. If you post well, it will be noticed and you will receive positive reputation as a result. Keep in mind that reputation doesn't just come automatically, sometimes you just have to keep at it. Eventually posting your in-depth comments and creating great threads will be like second nature to you. Also, don't post well just because of the influence reputation provides, post well because you want to have the best forum experience possible!
 

Ganondork

goo
Joined
Nov 12, 2010
I know what the red reputation heart means, ad I know what the skull reputationmeans, but what does the grey reputation heart mean?

That means you got negative reputation added onto your reputation
 
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