I was going to start a voting thread asking how many members would be receptive to this idea, but I then realized it might be impossible or a shitload of work for whoever would have to program it so I guess it would be more prudent to first ask if this is even a feasible request.
So hey everyone/mods/admins, I was thinking that the karma/opinion-based system might be better put onto threads rather than people. The rationale is that the forum is supposed to be centered around the content rather than the people, and even good people can make bad posts and even bad people can make good posts, so why put the pressure of the opinions onto the people? I was thinking that it might best be served on a "per post" basis, but that would create hassles in that people would be voting constantly on post after post after post, so then I thought well why not put it on a thread basis?
If we allow people to vote + or - to a thread, then newcomers can quickly see which threads that the overall memberbase thinks are worthwhile, which threads are relatively neutral, and which ones that the overall memberbase thinks are worthless to read. This would prevent people from karma cheating, ie going back day after day to smite or applaud people they hate or like rather than voting based on content of posts, as each member could only be allowed one opinion-vote per thread (with the ability to go back and change their vote if they change their mind). And if this pans out, then maybe some time in the future include a function to sort threads by opinion-vote if that's possible.
~Steve