Michel, contributions that members make to G2G are tracked, next to your name it says G2G6 Pilot, which means you have accumulated over 6,000 G2G points, actually 291,330 points, by asking questions or answering questions in the G2G forum, upvoting an answer or picking a best answer to a question, or having an answer you gave picked as best answer.
You can look at exactly how these points were accumulated by clicking on G2G profile under your WT ID drop down on your profile page. This tells me that you have been active in G2G conversations and that a significant number of people thought your questions and answers were useful. I can also see on your profile when you joined WT. Someone who joined recently and has not been at all active in G2G to date would have 100 points.
This is how points are awarded and I'm sure you already know this. Asking a question is 30 points. Answering a question is 100 points. Voting up an answer posted by someone else is 10 points. Having your question voted up by someone else is 30 points. Having your answer voted up by someone else is 30 points. Having your answer selected as the best by someone else is 300 points. Selecting an answer made by someone else to your question as the best answer is 30 points. Voting down a question or answer costs points.
There are many members who are very active in G2G, they answer questions everyday, their answers help people to understand how WT works, they provide advice on how to find sources, many people actively research and look for sources for members who ask questions such as: 1. my grandmothers name was Mary O’Rourke she was born in this place at this time, my grandfather’s name was William Rodgers, how do I find a marriage record?
There are also questions asked quite regularly such as: 2. why do I need to look for records about my family, I know who they were, where they lived, died etc this is really stupid and I’m not going to do it.
If I look at the G2G level next to their name and see that it says G2G Rookie I know the person is a new member or has not been active in the forum since they joined. Answers to that question usually explain how WT is set up and why sourcing is important.
The people who answered either of these questions have provided valuable information and deserve a pat on the back or an upvote for their answer.
If the person who asked the sourcing question chooses to ignore the answer and doesn’t source the profiles they manage, we might see another question from them later. It might say some person put a big orange banner on my profiles it says Unsourced, I already said I wasn’t going to do that sourcing stuff and I want the banner removed. This is a question that might get a downvote.
If someone else answers and says I agree this sourcing stuff is stupid and I don’t do it, that answer could also get a downvote.
But if you or someone else answers and explains why sourcing is important in a way that convinces the person that profiles should/ must be sourced, that answer also deserves an upvote and could easily get a best answer.
It isn’t a downvoting system, it is a way of thanking people who make helpful contributions to G2G, and yes on occasions a way of letting people know that what they said or asked was in some way inappropriate. And it is possible to accidentally upvote or downvote an answer or question, or for someone to think that clicking on the vote button is a way of bookmarking a question or answer.
And apologies for the length of this answer.
