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@Velocio
I've stopped giving ETAs. It's been a month or two away for what feels like forever.
Other things (existing customers) take priority, this is only 2nd priority.
But the fact that we're actively working on this shows that right now we're progressing well.
Introducing the rep system requires some thought, I don't want to make something in Microcosm that is specifically for LFGSS. It should apply to all communities, and the rep system doesn't.
I also don't believe it works. Trolls and the like are banned because of reports, not because of rep. And rep isn't visible enough for people to know that someone has a negative rep. We brought the system in to help with reputation, i.e. trust, in the classifieds section. But in reality a donor star does for more for trust in the classifieds than a "neg rep" does.
Ultimately, the rep system isn't serving it's core purpose (a basis for trust within the classifieds) and isn't fit for purpose for the secondary purpose (identifying and handling trolls, etc).
It's a weak middle-place, that at times is mis-used (as a semi-private system for a few little mobs to egg each other on as they bully someone).
I'd rather not ship something, and step back and ask better questions.
What would a system look like if applied purely to classifieds? eBay's is a better answer here... show people past trades that they've been involved in, things they've bought and sold with feedback.
What would a system look like if applied purely to comments? There's a whole load of research showing that positive and negative votes aren't enough to reveal trolls... you need a third one, a "meh". It's the degree of divisiveness that reveals trolls, not just a load of negative feedback. And you can only judge that by removing this middle thing... the "meh".
So on the scoring side, it falls short of being effective.
And on the messaging side... is it so hard to send a message? i.e. a PM? If it is... let's fix that.
And if it's more that people want a really easy way of sending one line of text, let's work on that (i.e. a little Facebook-style messaging window for people you follow to contact you).
Rep, to me, feels like it's answering a set of questions no-one has asked, and it isn't answering the questions that are being asked.
So when such a system is introduced, I'd rather it be done so because it's addressing a real need, rather than is a vanity thing that just confuses new users.