I'm new here so I think this interesting. Surely the vote value will always go down over time if the Monastery grows? So far I noticed I have a vote surplus, I used 2 yesterday and 3 today (I'm normally pretty neutral). You're not going to tell me I only get 8 votes _ever_ are you? So where are the surplus votes going? Probably to /dev/null unless corrupt Abbots are trading them behind the herb gardens. If I am typical and there's a vote surplus doesn't $NORM depend only on voter activity? Also whats the relationship between votes cast and reputation? I gave you a vote and you got 10 points. If everybody has 1 vote to give and gave it then $NORM would be 10 exactly right? The 0.24 variance is votes that went down the plughole? So I'm guessing votes are a kind of accumlatable currency of value. Wanna buy some votes, maybe I know a guy who knows a guy who has some spare? :)

Andy