Why we've switched off neg rep

Do you mean if the system reverts? I don't know that it would make much difference, there's still a maximum number of posts that can be reped per day and a time limit between reping a user.

Someone floated the idea about getting rid of rep a couple of years ago, and back then I didn't think it was a good idea.
Since then, having worked closer with all kinds of people (long time TSR members all the way to people who first find the site) you pick up on the sheer scale of people that are intimidated by being shot down, and rep is one of the easiest way to do that.

TSR is all about people posting and interacting, and the more of the barriers we can break down the better. Last week I saw a thread in tech, where the OP had started an open discussion and was being + / - repped in equal measure, just because of the topic. I mean c'mon... he then even edited the opening post to try and stop the flood of negs. Ask that member if he's likely to start a similar discussion again. Probably not.

This all said, it'll be good to see the findings once it's bedded in and dust has settled. I'm looking forward to some decent results!

But the person would have red gems, it won't be hard to get rid of your red gems if you want to troll without immediately being suspected.

Any 'fearless' posts made now could be negged a lot.

Intimidated are you serious...

I would say this is a definite backward step.

The problem is that whilst TSR is a lot of opinion and political / issue type posting; a large part of the remit is based on fact-finding and information. The rep system, whilst problematic was an automatic indicator of a particular member or post, by which a relatively uninformed member could assess a post quickly without having to read a 30 page thread.

For example, if someone were to post asking an information-seeking question - maybe if a particular area was generally safe to live in, or what a particular type of letter from a university means; if the first reply was complete nonsense or misinformation, neg rep was a very quick way of assessing this.

Similarly, some members are notorious for posting poor advice (as opposed to unpopular opinions). It will be difficult to moderate this if the advice isn't offensive or blatantly criminal. Previously, a big line of red would be a tell that people have a track record of - essentially - spouting rubbish.

Intimidated are you serious...

Assuming people remember/can be bothered. Plus, in 3 months there would be a lot of posts so I'd expect it to be diluted... But I see what you mean. I wonder how much of an effect this concern will have on the way people post during the trial period?

Yeah. You wouldn't think it until you talk to people about it.
Who wants to join a website only to be shot down...

Guess how many people join TSR but never post. As a percentage...

Intimidated are you serious...

Someone floated the idea about getting rid of rep a couple of years ago, and back then I didn't think it was a good idea.
Since then, having worked closer with all kinds of people (long time TSR members all the way to people who first find the site) you pick up on the sheer scale of people that are intimidated by being shot down, and rep is one of the easiest way to do that.

TSR is all about people posting and interacting, and the more of the barriers we can break down the better. Last week I saw a thread in tech, where the OP had started an open discussion and was being + / - repped in equal measure, just because of the topic. I mean c'mon... he then even edited the opening post to try and stop the flood of negs. Ask that member if he's likely to start a similar discussion again. Probably not.

This all said, it'll be good to see the findings once it's bedded in and dust has settled. I'm looking forward to some decent results!

Yeah. You wouldn't think it until you talk to people about it.
Who wants to join a website only to be shot down...

Guess how many people join TSR but never post. As a percentage...

So you've addressed the symptom but not the cause.

Do you think this will reduce the amount of hate directed at people starting "controversial" threads or do you think it will just make that hate more likely to be targeted and hurtful through being posted in a message rather than just a "thumbs down". Are you and the mod team ready for the likely increase in disagreements, insults and nastiness within the threads (because if so then this *might* work - if the trolls just looking to upset people get free reign then the atmosphere on the forums is likely to just disintegrate further)?

If I become a mod...