Quote: (03-06-2012 01:25 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:
I was simply happy to have a place to share my stories. That's more than enough. I've learned from others as well and have not always given feedback for posts I enjoyed. The quality of content is what kept me coming back day after day, not the race for points. Seeing good quality content inspires me to provide value in return. You can see from my profile that I drop a lot of posts on this forum. I average about 12.4 a day. That's what matters to me.
The rep points are truly insignificant.
Perspective is needed here: not everybody is like you. Incentives drive behavior, and some people need more incentives than simply having a high post count (in fact, I'd contend that most do).
Like it or not, this is human nature. The homo-sapien is a self-interested beast. Sometimes you have to offer the carrot on the stick to get the type of behavior you want.
Want noobs to feel pressure to contribute early on and make spot-on posts? Add rep, and give the possibility of recognition if they post a solid datasheet or other information right off the bat. Incentivize that behavior.
Can you go without providing that incentive? Sure, but don't pretend that there won't be a price (read: fewer high quality early posts/more laziness). To prevent that, the average guy would have to have your more altruistic mindset, and we know this isn't the case.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time.