Moderators (requests and notices)

Somewhat.

Karma requires a community who want it to work.

If Microcosm is all about self-forming/organising communities and karma is community based, those communities which want it to work will make it so. No overarching mechanism should be required - wouldn't that be counter to the whole spirit?

Karma can be helpful or damaging. The verdict is still out on whether it's for all communities and has long-term value.

Even something like Stack Overflow which started with the whole "points" as core to advancement in the system has reached a stage in which it is self-defeating as it discourages new participation as new members have a disproportionately high barrier to establishing themselves in the community (the existing leaders have many thousands of karma points and all of the most common questions have been answered).

Karma systems are a gaming mechanism, they may induce increased engagement as people attempt to earn their way to the next badge or advancement, but they are also gameable themselves, and as such can poison the very core of the thing that it attempts to create engagement with.

I'm very unsure about such things. I prefer a more human, qualitative approach, than to simply rate everything and attempt to quantify everyone.

The reason I think the Slashdot one works is less to do with karma (which actually isn't that visible), and more to do with having a feedback loop (with a positive bias) that tells people how the wider community has interpreted their contribution.

That has some value, but it's not in a wider detailed karma system as all of that is hidden. Even if one post eanrs +3 Insightful, +1 Funny... only the +3 Insightful is shown.

Anyhow... I guess the question as always, if it's not working for the intended purposes... is why keep it, what is the value, and is it working as something positive for the community. In the case of LFGSS, with the rep system in it's current form... none of the answers to those questions really comes out with any strong reason to keep the existing system. So the next question is whether an alternative system might provide a good enough reason, something positive for the community.

But by then we're just fishing for reasons to keep it. Which doesn't seem like a smart thing. If the reasons aren't obvious and compelling... why keep it?

I love it when you get all Zen about internet forums Velocio

My whole value of myself as a person is based on getting rep.

There's something deeply insightful about that comment that can be generalised to most people and relationships.

My whole value of myself as a person is based on getting rep.

repped

^repped for boosting snotters self-esteem

Feeling good.

im feeling left out now :-(

I'd totally nerg snotter if it weren't for Velocio's point about bullying.

You brute.

I'll give you a hug on Saturday.

I'd prefer rep, hugs just ain't the same.

take that back

There is an overwellming reason to keep rep/nerg.

Most people like it and it does no serious damage (as it is in fact totally meanings).

I remember being totally disheartened to discover my first neg... Till I realised it meant nothing.

At the same time it's nice to look at the list of my reps and be reminded of how awesomely funny I can be.

The question I'd pose is why remove it when it makes a lot of people happy?

Why keep it when it makes a lot of people miserable?

As evidenced by the number of times people ask me to remove, edit, and correct neg rep.

Bedwetters.

People actually look at their rep?

Why keep it when it makes a lot of people miserable?

As evidenced by the number of times people ask me to remove, edit, and correct neg rep.

There's something deeply insightful about that comment that can be generalised to most people and relationships.

Bedwetters.

I'm not saying there might be a better system for deciding good and bad sellers (I doubt that was the original point, but when it became only visable in sale threads that is what it became important for)...

As a system for marking posts that you appreciate or dislike it works and should stay. I would have a separate system for the classifieds that only relates to sales/buying.

Also if I was you I'd tell anyone who asks for nergs removed to get bent!

I don't really tell that many people to get bent. Even when I'm busy banning people, I think it's quite well known that if I'm left alone unhassled for a while I'd probably let people back.

^^But you're not marking the post, you're repping the user. It's completely different from +1 in that respect. You only mark the post if you say you've repped, in which case why bother with the invisible rep?

if u had to choose out of rep or neg rep, i would choose rep because its the best one.

^^But you're not marking the post, you're repping the user. It's completely different from +1 in that respect. You only mark the post if you say you've repped, in which case why bother with the invisible rep?

it says which post it's for in the control panel so it is marked.

Only for the giver and the recipient. Nobody else. Doesn't really count as social networking.

Bruce, you can shove social networking up your arse. Rep is a private way of saying here here or down with this sort of thing (careful now).

Why does everything have to be social these days?