It varies: if I've made a spate of posts that I'm particularly proud of (usually RPG ones, most of what I post on the rest of the forum constitutes a grand total of about three lines generally...) then I might check it in the next day to see whether I've had any reps for them, especially if someone has PMed me to say they liked a post - hey, sometimes it's most happy-fun-time, sometimes not, that's the way it goes... And sometimes I won't check for a while then suddenly realise that I've acquired an extra box. Which, y'know, always makes a pleasant surprise
TGWBS - you're kinda right, the reps are 'drying up' to an extent, or did seem to be for a while. I get them all of the same crowd really, those who I RPG with, so maybe I have a warped view, but still... Maybe the novelty is wearing off?