Reputation / Thanks System; How to use it

I recently decided it was time to try out the Reputation / Thanks system. There are many guidelines to this system, however, and if it's abused, I'll simply disable it.

Adding / Subtracting Reputation_____________________
On the side of each post, you can see something that should look like a plus sign (+), a line, then a minus sign (-). This adding / subtracting of points edits the persons reputation. Easy enough, right? However, there are some guidelines to follow.

Why to Give;
"To add or not to add?"
To try to keep the reputation system fair and balanced, there are specific guidelines you must follow. If abuse of the reputation system has been found, infraction points will be administered.

Here are some reasons to give positive reputation:
- A unique, helpful post, guide, or tutorial.
- A post with relevant, useful, and original information.
- A detailed, creative, / original idea that you believe is possible, will help the community, etc.
And other specific reasons.

Here are some reasons to give negative reputation:
- A post that is completely spam. For that, see the spam topic.
- The post contains something that could be found offensive by some audiences
- The post breaks the forum rules, or anything of the sort

A few other things that aren't allowed:
- Rep exchange; this is saying "Hey, I'll give you rep if you give me rep". That's not how it works, it really isn't. If you find somebody doing this, please PM me.
- Rep out of "spite"; giving somebody bad rep (or even good) out of spite, or an irrelevant reason is a no-no.

Giving "Thanks"_____________________
You may see a "THANKS" button above posts that don't belong to you. That is- you guessed it- the thanks button! If there is a post that matches some of these qualifications, why not say thank you?

- It's a helpful and relevant post
- It gives useful, unique information
- It's a helpful guide, tutorial, etc.

Remember to use your best judgement for this- not everything has been covered, so decide for yourself if a post is thanks / rep worthy!