My personal impression/opinion of the Voting Systems is skewed.

On the one hand it's a great incentive to get people to participate. In that sense, it is done very fairly & realistically. You can become a Saint simply by voting regularly & not doing a whole lot more. Or you can post voraciously. The up/down-side to that is that you will then be Judged by what you say. Are you asking an intelligent, thought-provoking question? Are you giving an informative, well referenced & linked reply? Or are you being a Troll? Or are you too lazy to read a book on PERL on your own & you're going to ask the monks how to do everything?

The big problem that I'm sensing here is that many monks have taken up the aspect of Politicians.

For example, ever post like a Troll as Anonymous Monk? Then you're guilty too. Personally, I haven't done it, but I've wanted to.

The truth is that the titles convey some sort of office, wherein they artifically generate a sense of respect for those who've been here or accomplished more than you have yet. I have great respect for many people here, and they have both taught & learned from me on occasion. But the other hidden truth is that the titles are meaningless...

Contemplate the meaning of nothing and something which itself has no meaning.

So.. You find people who might become obsessed with their XP. I have been known to be a stats whore... But mostly in that I'd check on my new postings like 10 times a day to see how they are received. I've learned to be more socially conscious of what exactly I'm saying so that maybe I don't provoke people to -- me for no good reason.

And therein you see both sides of the coin. On one side it makes you obsessed with nothing and on the other hand I find myself taking greater care in my work...

Like I said... $IMHO='skewed'.... But my best advice is this: Relax, and enjoy your work. Don't fret over where you fit into an artificial pecking order. In your life experience there are things that you can share with others just as they can share with you.

"A resource shared is a resource squared." - Mark Pesce

Wait! This isn't a Parachute, this is a Backpack!