I often took it upon myself to cast a "counter-balancing vote" when I observed a thread with an inordinately high or low thread rating on (what I considered to be) its merits. Upon casting such a vote, I would often learn -- through the mathematical calculation -- that the particular thread rating had been based on a handful of votes.

The "inappropriately" rated threads seemed to fall into a pattern, of an "unpopular" topic originator, of an "unpopular" contributor, or an "unpopular" point of view predominating on the thread.

While I appreciated the reputation feature while we had it, and the thread-rating corollary, the reduction in inflammatory actions and clique-based behavior has justified, and continues to justify, in my view, the original decision of Randy to dispense with these features.