I saw some LQ Newbies have their reputation: -1 or so on... How do I reduce a reputation by 1 of a misbehaving member?
Is it possible for me?
Do I need something?

We removed negative reputation from the system a while back. A search in this forum should turn up the details if you're interested.

--jeremy

1 members found this post helpful.

Yes, common sense and instruction. Nobody in this forum has treated you in a way that would warrant something like that (unlike you telling others "I am your senior! Hehe") and you contemplating some form of retaliation doesn't spell much good.

Should you have any beef with fellow LQ members you can not solve yourself then feel free to contact any moderator.

3 members found this post helpful.

Why do you care?
1) Because of the way the reputation system is set up, it is not an accurate reflection of expertise.
2) To make matters worse, the system is abused so much that it is almost meaningless.

So why do you want to make things even worse by introducing reputation subtraction by members? Or is it your idea of balance? Gratuitous penalties to match shameless awards? That would be nice.

The only advice missing: If a member behaves badly, report the post(s) and let a moderator deal with it.

It's not missing: see post #3. Please read threads properly before responding, TIA.

If you have concrete evidence of this, please do share.

--jeremy

I wouldn't say the reputation system is "abused" but I would say that it's not a reliable means of assessing a member's ability... and thus not terribly useful.

The rep system is open to use for "I totally agree with that guy!" rather than "that was a helpful answer full of useful information". I have seen some really good answers which don't receive a single click, probably because many of the users asking the questions don't understand how the rep thing works... so to gain more rep it makes sense to just post statements you know a good proportion of members will agree with, rather than answering new users' technical questions.

The main problem with the reputation system is that I don't see how to differentiate it from the Report button.

If it is "a misbehaving member", you should report it.

If it is "I don't agree with this guy/gal", then you should say it and that's it. I don't see how stifling opinion helps anything. I do see how helping others solve a problem does help. Why should my controversial opinion detract from my ability to help others ? I don't think the two are related at all, and yet somehow they would be placed in opposition of each other. Click Yes if I helped solve a problem, click No if you disagree with my opinion (or maybe you don't like me).

Thus there is no reason or use for a negative rep.

I did not mention that it also causes retaliation, i.e. the user you rep down, will rep you down (I have been a victim of this, as well as a perpetrator). It causes more problems, and does not solve any.

Anyway, that's just my opinion. However, before it is turned on, I would like a clear list of how it should be used, and not misused.

By abuse, I am referring to instances where someone is given reputation points for a witty remark or banter that has nothing to do with the topic of the thread. For example, a member receiving a reputation boost for posting that he prefers Ford vehicles over Chevy. There are also a few members who use add reputation, instead of +1, when they like the other person. Of course, the two point are related.
Another great example of abuse is when the two Fuduntu people added to each others reputation for every ridiculous post the other made.

The reason I pointed out abuse was to critcise the OP for taking the system too seriously. It does not take long to recognise the knowledgeable members. Reputation points are not much better than post total in reflecting expertise. It should be regarded as an additional feature that makes the forum more interesting, and not taken too seriously.

2 members found this post helpful.

From memory it was removed because there had been a spate of requests about it, culminating in one from me, that explained how people were using the reduction measure to push their own little retaliation. It happened to me and I commented on it simply because I believe people who are that vindictive and wont actually post their thoughts instead they "hide" behind a little link should not have that avenue to push their own agenda. There were a few who commented that it should be left alone but it was changed. I for one felt that the effect on newbies could be negative and when newbies are negatively affected they are not likely to stay.

The fact you believe a member is misbehaving (have you reported them? you don't even link to any "misbehaviour" in your post) so much that you want to "punish" them by doing this says to me that you are the type of person that this feature was removed because of.

3 members found this post helpful.

Ermahgerd!

deleted.

Quite a lot of my reputation points have been awarded for posts like those. Two solutions: either a rule telling members not to grant reputation for those kind of posts, or two buttons, one a "found useful" and the other "agree/like".

I agree that the two should be separated, because they are different.

If people wanted, you could implement a agree/disagree and a helpful/not-helpful. Then it would make more sense and it would be clearer ... but it may be more complicated to implement.