[maverick1]

You will notice some colored dots below the nick of every member. That indicates the amount of reputation that the member has accumulated.

The reputation system is a means for fellow members to recognize and reward members for good, helpful and insightful posts/comments. Every member can choose to award reputation points to another member through the reputation icon (appears as weighing scales) on the bottom-left of every post. However, the amount of points awarded to the target member will depend on the amount of reputation the giving member has. The more reputation you have, the more points you will give to each member. Note that your own reputation points do not decrease when you give another member rep points.

Every new member starts out with 10 reputation points (1 green dot) and when their rep points increase to 25, there will 2 green dots. The scale represented by the dots are as follows:

1 dot - 0 rep points
2 dots - 25 rep points
3 dots - 50 rep points
4 dots - 100 rep points
5 dots - 175 rep points
6 dots - 250 rep points
7 dots - 350 rep points
8 dots - 450 rep points
9 dots - 600 rep points
10 dots - 800 rep points
11 dots - 1000 rep points

The amount of rep points given to another member will depend on the number of dots the giving member has. Thus, if a member has 60 rep points (i.e. 3 dots), each time they give a rep to another member, that member will receive 3 rep points. If a member has 500 rep points, they will give 8 rep points to each member they choose. Thus, as you gain more and more reputation, the weight of your reward to other members increases!

However, you can also subtract reputation points from another member. Unlike adding reputation points, subtracting reputation points will cost you 1 rep point each time you do it. The amount of rep points subtracted from the target member also corresponds similiarly to the amount of dots you have.

Giving/Subtracting Rep Points
To give/subtract rep points from another member, simply go to the post that you like or dislike and search for the 'weighing scales' icon on the bottom-left. When you click on it, a small box will appear allowing you to choose between 'I approve' or 'I disapprove', which represents adding rep points and subtracting rep points correspondingly. Next you will need to enter a reason for doing so.

All reputation given or taken from members are anonymous. However, you can indicate who you are through the reason text box, if you want the member to know who you are.

Final Words
The reputation system allows for forum members to recognize good members around here. It also aims to encourage everyone to give good, useful and friendly posts. We want to encourage EVERYONE to use it when appropriate. When a fellow member has helped you out with a good post, please give him some reputation points and similarly, if a certain member has been insulting or vulgar, you can choose to deduct his rep points. We believe if used properly, we can identify good members around here!