Early on, I wanted something like that, too - so I could more easily find 'good' nodes to read, and skip over the 'bad' ones. Now that I'm accustomed to not having it, I'm glad it's not there.

Why? Because I frequently disagree that a node with a greater reputation is 'better' than another. 'Reputation' != 'quality' && 'Reputation' != 'usefulness'. (Just like 'XP' != 'Perl knowledge'). Some nodes get upvoted just because they're funny (and that's just fine, I think). Nodes with lots of code are notoriously overlooked for upvotes, because they require thought and analysis before a voter can decide if they're worthy. But these are some of the best nodes you'll find around here. Even if the code is lacking, you can learn from it.

Seeing a node's reputation without voting on it yourself invites self-fulfilling prophecies. 'Good' nodes will only get 'better' and 'bad' ones will only get 'worse'. Having to decide for yourself before you see what others think helps keep the Monastery lively.

I think I see where you're coming from, but I like that the reputation is hidden unless you've voted on (or written) it.

I really do like your suggestion about showing total number of votes per node, though. There are probably lots of nodes with near-zero reputations after dozens of votes have canceled each other out. But I only want to see it *after* I've voted on it myself.
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