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What is considered a 'good ratio'? And how is the ratio measured? - apparently it's 'the number of posts to the number of rep points'?
and each rep point is 4 points?
So how does one tell if a ratio of a poster is 'good' or 'very good'?
More reps than posts would be a good measure I think
I think of myself as a merit repper. If someone says something particularly interesting or helpful or well-written, I'll rep them. Most of the time, I'll hit the button on the bottom left, so the recipient has no idea that I was the one who sent it. Occasionally I'll use the scales because I want to leave a comment. I've started leaving my name with the comments, because I came to realize that I appreciated it when other posters would leave their names with their comments.
I don't think I give rep points all that often, though I don't think of myself as being purposely stingy with them. I had no idea that there was a daily limit, because whatever it is, I've never gotten anywhere near it. I'll admit that I do enjoy receiving rep points, even though I fully realize that 50,000 rep points plus a dollar are enough to buy a soda. I do sometimes run into the "you must spread reputation around" posts; I guess that's because there are certain posters that I just tend to agree with a lot. Sometimes I'll let them know by replying to their post in the thread.
The OP and I have a major point of commonality that has come out in one of the forums, so I have no doubt that some of her rep points came from me, and vice versa. That said, I make absolutely no attempt to keep track of who I rep or who reps me. The OP and I don't always see eye to eye on other matters, but that has no bearing on whether or not I feel any given post of hers deserves a rep point. I'll rep anyone who I feel deserves it for any particular post, regardless of how I feel about their posts in general. There is another poster (not the OP) with whom I constantly disagree with, though we are always civil about it. One time, she posted something that I completely agreed with (much to my surprise!), so I repped her and then left a response to her post saying that I had done so, so that everyone reading that thread would know.
I found this thread to be more interesting than I thought it would be -- so I repped you
I am #3. However, I focus on the quality of individual posts and don't give any thought to poster reputation. I don't think reps necessarily reflect merit as I seem to receive more reps when I post early in a thread and some threads seem to have more members who generously rep.
I appreciate posts that are concise, respectful, thought-provoking and/or helpful. Humor is a plus. I sometimes give a rep as a "thumbs up" or encouragement to someone who has done something difficult.
I don't leave my name when I rep as I didn't want to give any appearance of quid pro quo but I now realize some posters appreciate the name/comment.
I have identified different "rep giver styles". There appear to be a few.
1. Rep hoarders - These people do not give out a lot of rep to others. They seem to take their amount of rep points seriously. They may even keep track of who they have repped and when. They are interested in achieving a very high reputation score. They do not want to bring down the value of their own reputation points by giving too much rep to others. ( I am not one of them)
I'm not sure I understand this one - I wasn't aware that giving a rep took anything off your own. Where is that documented that you lose reps by giving them? And giving a rep doesn't count as a post...so it doesn't hurt your "ratio", right?
I don't necessary agree with #1, OP. I noticed that rep hoarders often visit Other Topics. To an outsider, members with high rep count might appear as well respected, helpful, knowledgeable individuals (maybe they are!) with a high status on the Forum, but when you look closer, you see that some of them collected their rep points for participating exclusively in the Games and Trivia and posting random single words or numbers. So, high reputation point count doesn't necessary mean, someone has written helpful, quality posts about relocation, or discussed serious topics on Great Debates etc.
I also need to comment on your #6.
You said: "I mostly see myself in this group - with the exclusion of people who never rep back, and those I have set to ignore."
How do you know they never rep you back?
Many people go on C-D using their phone (myself included). They might rep you without leaving any comment (guilty as well).
It's more complicated and time consuming to leave a comment, and many phone users don't even know how. I just found out how few months ago!!
However, I still rep most posters without a comment and only seldom take extra time to actually say something to them.
Anyway, what I am trying to say is that regular members have no way to know who rep them when they receive reps without comment. So, you might need to reconsider your judgment.
Back to your OP - 90% of my reps are for merit. I highly value members who take the time to write well constructed, informative, helpful, meaningful posts. I will not rep for one-liners, emoticons, memes and such
The 10% is for witty, intelligent humor, even if sometimes off topic.
I also always rep for reporting posts. They make mods life easier and I want members to know that appreciate it very much.
You've clearly spent some time thinking about this.
Did you create a spreadsheet and interview people, or are you just making this all up?
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