I mostly agree and rarely neg anyone in the forums unless he or she posted something painstakingly offensive, ignorant or just incorrect.

But neutralizing the +/- system in the soapbox will be tricky because the dynamic of the soapbox didn't evolve from a dispassionate place and I've actually realized a long time ago that the soapbox here sometimes become this sort of brawl of opinions and rhetoric. It's much easier to say "you're wrong" rather than "I disagree" and there are very concrete but subtle differences between the two.

If you were referring to me getting negged (has since gone) thank you for the sentiment. However I did understand what you were talking about, and am generally more well informed than the average peon.

I agree with you two, it takes a lot more effort to actually put points forward than click a button. I've got a feeling that it's not many people who do the button clicking, just a small number of sad people.

It might just be my phantom negger again, some (again sad) person who has some problem with me and could only express that in the past by negging everything I posted.

Neg reps suck. I agree with Yang, I have only used a neg rep once and it was on someone who was way out of line. I also reprted the member and that is in my opinnion a better way to deal with the offencive types.

Why we need the neg reps? Gods forbid when they are used on a story... When I see that it makes me so sad. When I see a unfair negs I always try to balance it with a happy point.

Everyone is entitled to their opinnion, you are so right about that! Would be boring if we all thought the same about everything. I would not wanna live in a world like that. It is about respect of the difference of the opinnion.

Someone might just be on a power trip with the neg reps

Well said. Also, sorry about the false call out on the nurse practitioner thing, my ears were sure red after doing some research.

I also make an effort to neutralise neg reps if they are simply for expressing an opinion which is different to the 'established' norm. I also negate anything put in a story I'm reading. If you don't like the story don't read it. Simples.

Well said. Also, sorry about the false call out on the nurse practitioner thing, my ears were sure red after doing some research.

Hey don't worry, I only learned about them a year and a half ago after I took my job. NP's are an up and coming idea in medicine; it is not an old idea for personal care, but it's still new to many nations.

I should have explained it better, but I keep forgetting that not everything is well known. I guess it's the sad truth of us accounting and finance people in health care, we interact with everything, but forget that not everyone does too.

people don't seem to have any qualms about "negging" my opinions. I don't feel bad about returning the favor.

Of course- it all balances out in the end. My rep is one of the biggest on the board.

i would just like to point out that Marzipan's use of "happy point" should become the official name for the green button.

There are a few times when someone says something questionable and the whole GA comes crashing on them with like -20 points and it's not like that person threatened to kill anybody.

Obviously people are not a impartial about opinions as they sometimes proclaim because It seem to boils down to scale...as in, if people disagree with an opinion, they try not to mark down, but if they really disagree with an opinion, then it became okay to neg