When you make a post, click on your own rep icon (the little scales looking icon). Your rep power is different from you rep points. Your rep power is how much of an impact you have on other peoples rep points. So now, if you give an approving rep comment, you will increase their reputation points by 1. Mine for instance is 10. So if I select approve, then I add 10 points to their reputation, likewise if I select disapprove then I take 10 points from them.
I highly encourage use of the reputation system. It was a requested feature but it is getting VERY little use. It is a very good tool for being able to see who is giving out good information and helping out. If someone helps you, even if its not in a post, such as coming over to your place and helping you work on your car, come back here and post about it and give that person some points.
This way we all know who is really contributing and helping out in the community, who is making quality posts that are useful and helpful. I would also, whether it is to approve or disapprove, encourage you to enter a useful and constructive comment. That way we know the reason for either type.
My reputation is a 22, but my reputation Power is a 10. Hopefully that will help you understand how it works. So for instance, if you clicked on my rep icon and added an approving comment for me posting this to help you out (you dont have to, just giving an example) then my reputation points would go to 23 because you have a rep power of 1. If you had a rep power of 5 then I would go to 27. Does that help?
