Sheldon pointed out:

The difference between being a troll or "tact-impaired" is minor enough that for most practical purposes it isn't worth considering.

Certainly. You're a case in point. Of all our sysops and respected contributors, you are easily the least tactful. You bully everyone who dares to disagree with you (even Jimbo). But we generally ignore your tactlessness, because of the honor of having a best-selling, published author in our ranks. And, oh yes, because once in a while you come up with a good idea.

But the only reward for good behavior, as you put it, is a thank you note from another contributor. You might get a barnstar, a pat on the back via e-mail, public accolades on the mailing list or your user talk page.

By the way, I think you're an outstanding writer, Sheldon. (You're just wrong about global warming, but, hey, no one's perfect! ;-)

Rating systems simply don't work. Any system devisable can be "worked" by clever and devious people with nothing better to do. Hackers (ahem, "Real hackers" call these folks 'script kiddies' or 'crackers').

Some might even say that the Western journalism system (the "media") can be cracked -- say, by unethical manipulation of statistics, just to mention one way of "stacking the deck". I believe you have a lot of professional knowledge about how the unscrupulous do this, Sheldon.

Ed Poor