Negative reputation should only be a last resort, for people who have screwed up, or are deliberately breaking the rules. If neither of the above applies, you should give them gray (neutral, 0-point) rep first, and explain in your rep comment what they did wrong. If they continue doing it, you can give them negative reputation for it. On the other hand, if they are seriously breaking the rules of ADISC, you should give them negative reputation immediately, and report their post to moderators, using this icon on their post:
Valid reasons to give negative reputation:
- Insulting, attacking, ridiculing other members of ADISC.
- Spamming the forum with messages that are against the rules.
- Disrupting serious discussions/threads with silly or spam messages.
- Posting obvious lies. Please think carefully before doing this because not everything that seems unbelievable to you must be a lie. Sometimes, things which seem completely crazy are, actually, the truth! Some people lead lives that most of us wouldn't believe...
- Causing drama by purposely posting offensive or controversial messages. Remember that everyone has the right to present their own opinion in a mature manner. Doing so is not a valid reason for neg rep!
Do
not give negative reputation if:
- You disagree with someone's opinion.
- You hate someone on a personal level.
- You did not understand someone's joke, but the joke itself is not causing any harm.
Do not write offensive comments or insults into your rep comment! Instead, give suggestions on how the member can improve their behavior! If you curse at someone in a rep comment, or otherwise abuse the system, the rep will be reversed, and you may well be banned from using the rep system.