Reputation on TST

In the past, when The Sand Trap was powered by vBulletin, we used to have both positive and negative reputation. Members who had achieved a certain standard (the Established Member ranking) could vote on reputation, deducting from or adding to another member's reputation point total. Once they reached a certain total, their points would count as two, at which point they were capped.

Then we switched the site to Huddler, which limited members to only positive voting. This was a welcome change, and removed overt negativity from the site.

Now, on IPS, though we have the option to add negative reputation back to the site, we are not. Reputation will remain positive.

To the left, you can see @mvmac's "user info" that appears to the side of every post Mike makes. You'll notice the display of golf balls sitting on tees and you'll notice the number "+1188" below them. These are two separate kinds of "reputation," though one of them is just a content counter, essentially.

Which is which? Well, the +1188 is Mike's reputation. The teed golf balls? They're just a reference for the number of posts and images and other types of content Mike has posted. Reputation matters more, so let's talk quickly about that. You'll find that it's really not that complicated.

Mike has earned 1188 "points" (we call them "skins"). Clicking on "+1188" takes you to Mike's reputation page which, somewhat annoyingly, defaults to the reputation he's received for his Profile Comments first. This often means you'll see "There's nothing here yet." Click on "Posts " in the left-hand column, though, and you'll see where Mike has earned the majority of his reputation (at right).

Giving a "Skin" (Reputation)

To hand out positive reputation, which I am encouraging all members to do when they encounter a post that makes a well-reasoned point or goes above and beyond to provide great content, you simply click this button at the bottom of their post: .

Once you click the button, your positive reputation will be added to the counter (0 in the above image). Additionally, your "skin" or positive reputation will be available for others to see, both on the post and the poster's profile page.

ou should not click the thumbs up button for posts simply because you agree with them unless they're also a high-quality post. In other words, please do not treat "thumbs up" like Facebook "Likes" or just "thumb up" posts with which you agree or which just make a joke but provide little in the way of content. We're not trying to identify people who think like others, we're trying to use reputation to identify those who post quality content.

Your Reputation

Your reputation is shown in your profile and on the posts you make on the site. Clicking the number on your posts or clicking "See reputation activity" on your profile (as seen to the left) will take you to the same page that shows you where you've accumulated your points. You can also choose to receive a notification and/or an email every time someone gives you a skin in your Notification Settings.

High-Reputation Posts

If enough people give a post enough reputation points (see below), it will achieve "Super Awesome Status!" Okay, actually it's just called "high reputation," but the post will have a little greenish tint to it, and will have a little flag attached to the top-right-hand corner of the post. You can see an example of this here.

Current Reputation Settings

We strive to be free and open here with how the site is run, and so here are the settings:

General reputation settings:

Reputation levels:

Individual group settings (they are not all the same as this, but this gives an indication):