as I said before...
has anyone seen expertsexchange.com
it's probably the most comprehensive computer help website on the internet and they have a great rep system.
only one rep point can be given out per thread (accepted answer) that rep point can be given out by the person who started the thread, or in the event that the thread starter disappears the rep can be awarded by the admin.
assuming two people give a correct answer or each person contributes to an answer the rep points can be split and each person awarded a rep point...
I'm more than all for that kind of system to be put into effect here, so positive and negative rep points would be awarded by either the mods or the admin at the request of the thread starters to the person who actually helped them...
social chit chat is fun, but it doesn't deserve reputation points on a computer forum!