Indeed Mith! But this way they remain anonymous, since they don't have to own up to it.

But the fact that they chose not to sign means that it is against their wishes ... especially when people start speculating and trying to calculate by rep points... that is all ... just enjoy the fact that someone somewhere liked your post :D

I quite understand your point and I agree! I just feel it polite to make your appreciation known. But I never try to work out who it was so such reppers are safe from me :cool:

I know .. but it has happened in the past and it was a bit unseemly....

Definitly enjoyable. The only problem is that playing detective is so much fun also!

But I guess if someone is going to try to work it out they at the very least shouldn't share it with the rest of the members (I did that a short while ago but won't do it again).

Thanks to all teh reppers who brought me over 3000 rep points now, and oddwen thinks i'm so ramtnic... :smokin:

Exactly!! someone took the time to read my post and found it rep-worthy... I won't obsess (spelling?) over an unsigned positive rep and I'll try not to over an unsigned negative rep (no promises) yet I like to thank those who take the time to rep me... and it has helped start "friendships" with some posters.

I agree.

*Glares at Glirdan*

:o I'm sorry Sauce. I would have thanked everyone through PM's, but I just don't have the time (or patience right now) to do so. Don't beat with your pans!! Or worse yet (as Rune would do :p )... Beat me with an Orlando Bloom film!!! :eek:

It is! I'd never post any detective work here - just keep it to myself and wonder. :)

At any rate, I don't keep close enough track of my points to figure it out, so the mystery repper is safe from me.

The truth is, I don't think most people who give out reps are looking for thanks in return. If you don't have time to respond to everyone, you don't have to do it. Even without receiving a thank-you, the rep-giver can be pretty well assured that the rep will be appreciated. I don't think that there's anyone here who would be angry if you repped them. ;)

I have in the past received a couple of PM's from people I've repped letting me know that I pushed them past a new level, and that is always fun to know. But I don't know that it's necessary to say thank you every time you get a rep. For those who do, by all means keep doing so - it's not a bad thing. But it doesn't need to be done on this thread. Me either. I could probably tell you the first two digits of my rep count, but generally I won't have any idea if the rep I get is worth 20 points or 80 points. It's not important enough to me to keep track of.

Echoing Firefoot, I feel slightly bad when people thank me for rep points. No need for it, dudes; I obviously like your post, and I guess that you're pleased with the recognition. :)

Here's something I've been finding very funny: I often get repped for things that I totally don't deserve to be repped for, and recently I posted what I consider to be my funniest ever Crazy Caption—and it got completely ignored! :D

That's the beauty (maybe).

Crazy Captions never stop to amaze me, everytim I think that I have postet something brilliant I never get a single rep. No need to say when I think my caption is only semi-funny I get atleast a couple of rep's.

The Barrow-Downs Mutual Admiration Society...
 

... we could rename this thread, don'tcha think? Anyway, it occurred to me that the moderators must have a grasp on precisely how many active members there are (say, minimum .5 posts per day?). I suppose you like I take a peek at the Members List just to see where you are. It's all part of the pecking order thing, don't you think? I am inevitably #21 on page 1, and have been for months, in both reputation and posting number. I just find it kind of interesting in a slightly exasperated, 'who really cares?' sort of way. :p No matter how hard I try to be active, it seems I'm always just a little over 100 posts shy of Fea's number. Not that it matters. But don't we all think this way? Or am I wigging out again? Pio says the reason for the reps is to kudo someone for a good post, but who only uses it that way? One of my old signatures was a tongue-in-cheek thing about "if you want to get reps, be a werewolf mod". That could be changed to "....play werewolf". That's all it takes. Anything wrong with that? Nah. But I do like how replying to reps (which I started doing a few months ago) has increased my sense of feeling like I'm part of a community. And thanking those who have repped me has absolutely nothing, nothing, I tell you, with the hopes of the same folks putting you in their regular rotating list of 'people I rep'. Well, I suppose that's assuming too much.

So here are my questions:

Do you have a regular rotation of people you rep?

If so, how many people would you say are in your rotation?

Also, how often do you make an effort to step out of your "familiar" rotation and rep somebody you don't know?

Why do you rep whom you rep?

If you don't have a regular rotation of people you rep, how do you avoid it?

EDIT: Hah! I just fell to #23 in reps....where I tend to move around in the low twenties; it's in number of posts that I'm more or less ensconced at #21. :p

LMP,
While I don't have a list of people I rep, I find myself repping just about the same people often. Nilp is just hilarious and has earned a couple reps for his 'work' in Mith. Undome seems to stay mostly in the RPG sections yet she's an excelent writer and I rep her from time to time for her posts. In the Books/Movies sections it's more open and I usually rep anyone who has some valid, well argumented points.

I like repping newbies as well, specially in the discussion forums. Not that I'm an "old timer" but I like it when someone new comes in and adds to the discussion.

About why do I rep people? well, either a really funny post or a good argument. I think I am more easily persuaded by a good argument in a discussion than a joke.

Eomer & Rune,
It's crazy, but same here. I can't recall which post it was, but I remember really spending a lot of time making a good post for one of the book discussions and I was so confident I had made a good post I just 'knew' I'd be repped. Yet I was not :p at least until Estelyn digged it up about a month later!!

I try hard not to rep the poster too often, but rather the posts. Still, I find that I rep more often those I have PM'd or Roleplayed with.

I'm a little uncomfortable with naming who we rep in answer to my rather nosy questions, but hey....

Well, I do, of course . . . :p

Do you have a regular rotation of people you rep?

Not really – though I do tend to rep well done RPG posts more often than posts in other threads.

If so, how many people would you say are in your rotation?

N/A

Also, how often do you make an effort to step out of your "familiar" rotation and rep somebody you don't know?

I “step” out of the RPG forum often.

Why do you rep whom you rep?

I rep posts that are lovely, that take my breath away when I read them; posts that are well argued; posts that make me laugh; posts that surprise me with their ways of putting ideas together; posts that show a love of scholarship; and many other reasons . . .

If you don't have a regular rotation of people you rep, how do you avoid it?

I read as often as I can in the other forums, including Translations from the Elvish and Haudh-en-Ndengin & rep the posts that strike my fancy.

Not deliberately so. I rep anyone who's post tickles my fancy just right, be it by writing well, amusing me, or just making me think.

However, since the same people tend to tickle me, I do tend to rep the same people.

Well, if we assume that this "rotation" of mine actually exists, I'd peg it at about 20 to 30...

Whenever someone tickles my fancy... or whenever I start to feel that I'm not being generous enough. That's happened a couple of times...

I think I've already covered this... For the plain ignorant, I refer to my answer to the first question.

Not applicable, I'm afraid, since although I don't REALLY have a rotation, I do have a regular enough group that staying random isn't something I do.

Do you have a regular rotation of people you rep?

Unintentionally but yes I do.


If so, how many people would you say are in your rotation?

I would estimate about 8 to 10 are on a regular basis.

Also, how often do you make an effort to step out of your "familiar" rotation and rep somebody you don't know?

Not too often, although I do on occasion. It's directly proportional to the amount of time I have on the downs and lately it's not much. I have a couple of threads that I haunt regularly along with others and they receive the most of my rep. I never make it over to RPG but once in a while I will read through a couple that I really think are well written and rep that. But mainly I rep in Mirth and books with the occasional rep in Palantir of Fortune when somebody guesses my quote rather quickly.

Why do you rep whom you rep?

I explained partly above they hang out where I do and therefore we cross paths more often. Also there are some downers that I identify with more than others and their posts strike home more than others or are funnier to me, so I will rep them. Often times in books I feel so inadequate and inept that I don't post much but will rep those that make me think and to me it's irrelevant whether or not I agree with the idea if I think it is written well and thought provoking I rep it.

How so? it's not like they don't know it or I'm showing off... Just to be clear, it's not that I prefer the mentioned posters over the others, they were just the first examples to come to mind.

Sorry to interrupt the flow of poll answers, but I'd like to weigh in on the topic that Mithalwen, Piosenniel, and others were discussing above.

I'm generally a little uncomfortable with the posts on this thread that "thank" people for reputation points. Like Mithalwen, I think that a rep given is private, signed or unsigned. If someone gives you a signed rep, you can thank them by pm. If someone gives an unsigned rep, they're not expecting thanks.

The number of points and the "level" each Downer has achieved is public and VERY EASY TO FIND. It just strikes me as a little unseemly to come to this thread to crow about what we can all see (i.e. that you've reached Taniquetil, or gotten your first shiny box, or reached the first page on the Members' List).

I actually rarely check this thread because I would hate to see the Downs devolve into a competitive space. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, it's easy enough to find a stick by which to measure yourself against others here, without inciting further adversarial thinking by posting the results of the comparison on this thread.

Farael, look back at what people have been saying about privacy over the last page or so. Many people do not like to have their names publicized here, simply because they consider reps a private thing.

Do you have a regular rotation of people you rep?
If the number of times I see the "You must spread more rep around first..." message is any indication, then yes, I do.

If so, how many people would you say are in your rotation?
Probably about 10-20.

Also, how often do you make an effort to step out of your "familiar" rotation and rep somebody you don't know/Why do you rep whom you rep? (Combined for purposes of ease)
I don't really do it on purpose. If I see something I like, I rep it. I typically rep in RPG's, the Books, sometimes in the QR or QQ for an outstanding question or answer, and sometimes in N&N if I see something I particularly like - and in WW, when I have the chance to play. But the amount of time I spend in the Books sort of comes and goes in streaks - it sort of depends on what threads I'm following and who is posting there. RPG's - I'm trying to make more of an effort to rep good posts there, because those are probably the posts I'm always happiest to get reps on myself (those and the Books). This is where I usually get that message that I need to spread rep around. I don't often go into the movies forum or the Mirth forum, though when I do I don't hesitate to rep there. Additionally, if an older thread is referenced in the Books section, I will usually read through it and often rep any good posts I find there.

It's certainly a case of where you hang out. There are certain threads in the Books section which I am sure are just filled with good posts, but if I'm completely uninterested in such discussions then I won't read them and consequently won't rep people for those posts. So I'm always repping people for Crazy Captions because I'm there all the time. Do I value funny jokes higher than thoughtful literary analysis. Well....yes and no. :p

Wouldn't it be nice if all the energy that has gone into posts on this thread were invested in actual Tolkien discussions?! To say nothing of the sleuthing effort involved in figuring out the source of anonymous reps...

I cordially invite all of you to join in the Chapter-by-Chapter discussions of The Hobbit, now in progress! :)

Just to clarify - I have nothing against thanks for rep done through the PM system. I do so occasionally particularly if it is someone I don't know so well or if a point of mutual interest has been raised. My point is if someone has chosen not to give their name, they clearly aren't bothered about being thanks and the matter should left at that.

As for LMP's question.... there are some people who you could rep all they write...and the limit is a useful check.... but I do try to make a point of encouraging the newcomers and try to rep across all forums..... but off course you are inclined to rep most where you are most active.

I worded it the way I did to indicate that I realized it was probably my problem, not yours. I appreciate your clarification, Farael. Thanks! :) However, Firefoot's helpful response is to the point.

It was indeed I who was the first with a shiny square....past glories!

I remember being pleased as punch that I was on the first page (sorted by rep) when it was first activated. And who was the leader on that first day.... *drum roll*.....??


The Saucepan Man

Whoo Hoo!! I am four points away from 1000. Soooo exciting! Squeee :D

Thanks everyone....

me, i'm 897 from 4000... :p

Burn

But I will try and be realevant to this thread: Is there a place (whether in the FAQ or earlier in this thread) that states what the rep levels correspond too as far as points? (Bilbo would share a smoke with you-10 rep points) or something like that? I cant find one anywhere, not thats it crucial, but just wondering.

Oh, he was the first BDer to get two green boxes, wasn't he? I remember being all awestruck then, with the rest of us having only one. Then several months later...

There are several posts that give information on point count and rep levels early in this thread. If you go back and skim the first few pages (before it turned into a rep chat), you should find it.

Today I have many reasons to celebrate; I just came home from a party with the workmates and I also received a very interesting job proposal; but I knew it was a great day when I saw I passed the 1000 mark in under 100 posts/60days (repdrunk could hardly describe my feelings :) ). I would like to warmly thank all the members who appreciated my posts. As I have confessed in private, I consider the level of Tolkien discussions in this site to be one of the highest around, and the people are just great. Really glad to be here.

I must say I'm a bit repdrunk too - I was only a day or two away from the 'downs and I've got four new reps and ~200 new rep points and all from different threads! Thank you all!

EDIT: I've passed BW and pio on the members by reputation list! :eek: maybe I have to rep them only for that. Or just for being great...

What fun! I log on this morning and found I have been given three reps, on three different posts, overnight!

Thank you all!

*Feels good about self, motivated, and hungry (but that's totally unrelated)*

Thank you, one and all! After many delays, and a sad mishap with my luggage, I am now bound for the Straight Road!

To the unknown person who said "he-he" to my crazy caption input:


Thank you!

The original purpose of this thread was for people to post FAQs about the Rep system. There has been some interesting and instructive discussion since on various aspects of it.

However, recently (and despite the best efforts of littlemanpoet and those who responded to his questions to raise the level of the discussion) it has become little more than a facility for members to publicise the reps that they have received or the rep levels that they have achieved.

Quite apart from the comments made by Mithalwen and pio about the confidential (or at least two-way) nature of the rep system, which I wholly endorse, it's all becoming rather (to adopt Mith's excellent expression) unseemly.

I believe that this is a trend which we should look to curtail.

Thanks, SpM.

Sometimes I worry we've reached the point where the tail is wagging the dog!

As I have said I seldom neg rep but, in a good cause, maybe we grumpy old folk should neg rep the braggarts? :rolleyes: ;)