Chewed out for saying thank you to an Ubunu answer?

Question

In my original post, "Associate PlayOnLinux to Microsoft Office on Ubuntu 14.04," I presented an Ubuntu problem that I was having. I received a reply from Mitch which included an attempt at a solution. I replied to Mitch that my problem still continued. He replied with additional information which eventually solved my problem. I then responded to him with a thank you for his efforts and for helping me with the problem.

Shortly after that I saw a post from Kevin which read: "Please don't add "thank you" as an answer. Once you have sufficient reputation, you will be able to vote up questions and answers that you found helpful." and that my post was deleted for saying thank you.

First of all Kevin, I decide for myself when and to whom I say thank you for help that they have shown me. Second, I made a post here to ask for help with Ubuntu (as is stated within the site name, askubuntu.com) not to win any points for "reputation" and "voting up." So if you would, please restore any of my posts that you (or the team) deleted (and yes, I use the word "please" also).

Why not let this site concentrate on what it's name states, to ask Ubuntu questions, and drop the silly striving for King of the Castle with the "reputation" and "voting up" points. If a person answers a question with what he perceives to be a good answer, I see no reason why he should be promoted or demoted with points, and I see no reason why I cannot say thank you to him for his efforts. We all have different levels of knowledge, and some of us need more help than others. I happen to be one of those that needs more.

Thank you for reading this post.

Answer 1

I would suggest doing a little bit more research on this site's philosophy in order to understand why certain policies have been put in place and how they help keep the site useful, relevant, and clean.

The reason your "thank you" was removed wasn't because anyone thought you shouldn't be saying thank you, it was because there is another way of saying thank you (upvoting) that was put in place that is universally understood and appreciated just as much as a real "thank you". The reason we upvote (and mark answers as accepted) instead of saying thank you is that it is more concise and benefits everyone else. They can see which answers and questions are the most widely helpful.

The reason we have the reputation and badge system is because it is an excellent way to reward users for asking good questions and writing good answers. It is not a way of gauging which users are better or more technically knowledgeable than the rest. There is no pride involved, it is simply a measurement of performance and effort so that high-rep users can gently act as good examples to the users who are just getting to know the site.

I hope you haven't been discouraged from participating. If there's any advice I can offer, it's to provide as much detail as you can. Google for Ask Ubuntu Meta answers on what details to include in specific types of questions.