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I noticed that there are Ask Ubuntu points and I've lost tons of them. I have no clue how to get more. Do I loose points for asking questions?

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    You should read our help center. Specifically the section on reputation.
    – Seth
    Oct 15, 2013 at 0:11
  • Really you lost tons of points..?? :) Oct 15, 2013 at 0:12
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    14 rep loss isn't "tons of points". ANd read the help center.
    – Thomas Ward Mod
    Oct 15, 2013 at 0:17
  • I didn't loose that much points, but I last saw my points at 21 and now it's at 6 points. Oct 15, 2013 at 1:29
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    This is why we are so much better than the other place - which penalizes you for asking questions. Oct 15, 2013 at 1:57

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Looking at your Profile Rep Page I think the answer is that some people think you are not asking very good questions.

Asking good questions is not easy.

  • First you should search on this site and across the internet in general to see if your question has already been asked and answered. If it has then you should not ask the question as it will be closed as a duplicate and may result in some people voting it down; especially if lots of people have asked a similar question.
  • Second you need to be sure that the question you are asking can be answered (even if that answer is: it can't be done). We are not looking for open ended questions where there are lots different opinions and they may be equally valid. This question: Should I install Ubuntu 13.04 64bit? is in my opinion at least impossible to answer as we don't know what you want to do with Ubuntu but the question that it was closed in favour of What is the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit and which should I choose? is much better because it is asking for a comparison of the options allowing you to make an informed choice.
  • Third you need ensure that its specifically about Ubuntu and not about Linux in general

Take a look at the help pages and read the comments people leave on your questions. I personally never down vote a question without leaving some indication why: either by up-voting a comment left by someone else or adding my own comment.

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You should also take a look at your profile's rep page and see where your rep is disappearing to. According to that page, you've had a decent bit of downvotes on your answers, and a bit was lost because your question here was downvoted because you posted it on the main site and not meta.

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  • There is a right and a wrong place to post stuff? I rarely use askubuntu, but it is obvious there is a lot I don't know about. Oct 15, 2013 at 2:33
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    @Alan the main Ask Ubuntu site is for questions about Ubuntu. Meta Ask Ubuntu is the site that is about the Ask Ubuntu site, where you can ask questions and get help with issues on the site itself.
    – Thomas Ward Mod
    Oct 15, 2013 at 3:21
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You are losing points because people are downvoting your questions and/or answers. They maybe downvoting them because they have already been asked before. Here is how the point system works: https://askubuntu.com/help/whats-reputation As you will see in the link you can gain points by having your question or answers upvoted, by having your answer accepted, and by accepting other people's answers (click the check mark underneath the voting column).

P.S. You will also read in the link I placed that you can lose points as well for voting down other peoples answers or placing a bounty on a question. There are ways of 'spending' your points as well besides just losing them due to downvotes.

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The community is pretty harsh when it comes to doing your "homework"

What I mean by this is you need to actually do some reading about the community rules when posting and understand how this site works as everyone else has already said.

If people believe you are asking a silly question most likely you will get a down vote and lose some points.

It may be a bummer, but trust me you will get the hang of it. Just try and help others and make sure you do a good search on this site before asking a question because more often then not some one else has already had the same problem as you.

I hope this helps and I'm glad you are using AskUbuntu because I know it will just make this site better.

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  • yes, I need to do a lot of reading. I can't ask questions anymore and 13.10 just came out. I am having installation problems. upgrading with the DVD was not a good choice. Oct 17, 2013 at 17:54
  • If you are having issues with the install the best way to get help right away is on irc. Look into getting xchat or irssi and then get on irc.freenode.net and then go to the channel ubuntu.
    – Goddard
    Oct 17, 2013 at 23:37
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You can find the answer regarding reputation point system here

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