Originally posted by SimplyAmazing
Honestly in my opinion, it is half & half.
The downfall of Rep: It does indeed prevent most user's from voicing their opions. Because if they do, they will most likely get negative rep if it is negative torwards another user. And honestly, no one likes to have or get negative repped. (Except for me because I honestly don't give a shit about rep.)
The Thumbs up about Rep: Although the rep system does lead to broken rules. It is still good to have it. What I'm saying is, if a noob is in need for a prestige hack and someone is holding a service, how would they know if they are a trusted member without revealing their rep? I know I wouldn't give my account information to some stranger. So pretty much the rep shows who is trusted & a contributing member.
That is the referal system, but they should make it that you need PROOF of a transaction/service which has to be approved by mods/admins, or even create a few new staff spots/statuses.
That way you know FOR SURE who is trustworthy and what not.