I have to agree about the XP system. I notice that XP is not usually issued for doing something extraordinary complicated, but something that is simple and explained well.

This node was around 40 rep for explaining the difference in localtime. Not exactly rocket science but evidently people seemed to think it was useful.

My last node, I was not paying attention and posted a bad code and it got quickly marked down. When I noticed I fixed and it got marked back up.

I was a bit embarrassed that I had submitted such bad code and I did not like the idea of negative rep, so I believe the system works to motive people to contribute, by not allowing bad explaination or examples.

I think you've got XP nailed.

I'd also add that just asking an interesting question can get you lot's of XP.

-QM
--
Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of

Herkum:

It seems like such a simple thing, but it sure seems to work well! I find myself reviewing the reputation of my nodes to see what is appreciated by the community.

In person, we have body language to give us feedback. On the phone, we get tone of voice. Here, we get XP for dual feedback (XP number for node you write, and XP number for nodes you vote on) so you can see if your tastes align with your peers.

My own example is that for the last 10 years, I had the habit of starting an EMail like:

Herkum--

But someone here recently messaged me and asked if I was downvoting someone. So I started either using a colon at the beginning, or omitting the name entirely when I start a reply. (I don't want to unintentionally insult someone: My friends know that when I insult someone, I'm not very subtle! Those who don't know me, though, might assume I'm being coy...)

--roboticus

2006-04-17 Retitled by planetscape, as per Monastery guidelines
Original title: 'A Cautionary tale for Newbies “Monks don’t bite”'

In person, we have body language to give us feedback. On the phone, we get tone of voice.

Who's this "we" you speak of? While I'm sure most monks are geniuses at social interaction, I personally find XP a much better feedback mechanism. :-)

Herkum--

I would have thought that merely self-deprecating...

-QM
--
Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of

I think it's due to the experience system

Partly. I think it's also partly due to some of the people who got involved rather early, in the formitive stages. Several of the people who've been active on Perlmonks for rather a long time are not only very knowledgeable about Perl, but also interested in seeing other programmers pick up and use the language. (One person in particular springs to mind as having been a major advocate of the language from very early.) When the experts who have been around forever are polite, it sets the tone for the people who come along later, because these are the "community leaders" that they respect.

I think it's also partly due to some of the people who got involved rather early, in the formitive stages.

That makes sense. Once a community is established, you get the "birds of a feather" effect. After all, you humans (Heh!) do tend to hang out in groups with similar taste/style/etc. (OK...I think I'm taking this pseudonym just a little too far!)

I wonder if it started at Larry? After all, there are quite a few nice languages to play with out there, but in my experience, while Perl has ugly syntax (e.g. @{$foo{$gnord}}) it has a great community surrounding it (CPAN, PerlMonks,...). Many times, when I have to get something done quick, I first check CPAN to see if it's already 90% done for me. If so, I start writing it in Perl. Otherwise, I then look at the problem to see if hashes/regex/... are going to be helpful. If so, I again start writing it in Perl. Otherwise, I start coding in C/C++ (which is what I still think in).

--roboticus

(Who, in fact is pink and squishy under the gears and wires...)

2006-04-17 Retitled by planetscape, as per Monastery guidelines
Original title: 'A Cautionary tale for Newbies “Monks don’t bite”'