Some of you may smile at the title of this post right away, some of you may smile after reading the post, IF there will be anyone willing to read it till the end. In any case, I want to *put these thoughts on paper*, as I think it may be important for a few of you. At least I hope so. 

This is a topic that many newbies are interested in as I see many are gunning for high reputation right at the beginning of their journey. Today I decided to put together a few thoughts that may help you understand what *reputation* on Hive really means. 

I've been dealing with newbies lately quite a lot. It hasn't been planned but as they say, it comes with the territory and I'm glad to do it for a good reason. I'm trying to guide them, see what their struggles are, help them start their journey on Hive the right way. It's been almost five years since I was a newbie, so I'm trying to put myself in their shoes and see Hive as they see it, in order to be able to understand where can I or other Hivers help. 

## Reputation

Hive has a reputation system that is not easy to understand and can become frustrating at times. Every new account is credited with a reputation of 25. When you register, your reputation is automatically 25, so you're not starting from zero. I suppose it's normal to believe that reputation can only go up and a good post's votes may support that belief. In some cases a good intro post can catapult you to reputation over 40, maybe even more. Then you start looking around and see users with much higher reputation, some even over 80 and you think if you were able to get to 40 - 45 with a single post, 80 is not too far.

![challenge-g2a3bd8619_1280.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/erikah/23zad1oH6qwixNFZRqyNbz36QdQWTEo39GRbB8Sio9a9nRiJJd8ZUeJsczYgbwiLFQ6PT.png)
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/mohamed_hassan-5229782/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=6689107" class="keychainify-checked">mohamed Hassan</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=6689107" class="keychainify-checked">Pixabay</a>

Next, disappointment kicks in when you see your reputation is only trudging on and some find out that reputation goes both ways, up and down as well and 25 is not the lowest. You can go below zero if you deserve it. (Hive is to use, not to abuse.)

I remember when I was a newbie, rep 68 was huge back then! We were at the beginning and there were no such high reputations yet, as today. As any newbie, I was also looking at my reputation hoping to get it higher and higher. Some of the users used to do a post about their reputation every time they passed a milestone, maybe that's still a thing. I don't know. 

What many don't know is that after each milestone, like 30, 40, 50 and so on, advancing in reputation becomes 10 times harder than the previous level. This is not a joke or exaggeration, this is how the system has been designed. 

## What is Reputation?

I suppose it could be a question of prestige for some as being among the users with the highest reputation could mean something, but it reality that number many call reputation serves for not much. 

- It means you've been on the chain for some time and you've gotten some votes to reach that level. 
- There are contests with certain requirements regarding reputation, to avoid allowing newly created fake accounts to participate and also to avoid rewarding users that have been on the chain for long. 

But other than that, it has no purpose in my opinion. 

I think it's important to note that not every reputation has been obtained organically. Back in the legacy chain we had bid bots, that allowed anyone go buy votes, which resulted in pump of reputation. 

## Reputation Still Matters 

This may be confusing as I've just said that reputation is a useless metric and now I'm saying it still matters and I mean it. Reputation matters a lot, just not the one you've been focusing on.

Your reputation on the chain is not that number next to your name, but what you do on the platform and how you behave. That is your reputation and if you lose it, you have nothing. Trust me, we've seen it so many times already. 

You can have the highest reputation and the biggest stake, but if you do something stupid, that number won't save you, nor your stake. We've seen old users with Rep over 77 plagiarizing, reposting content, because their only focus has been milking the reward pool. This behavior is not tolerated on Hive and you will still face the music.

![jakob-owens-p2qV59YpdfU-unsplash.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/erikah/23uEv33cQF3uPwfVyzWPRNADkNimX86WTBwGxHq1NbhGC1M4oREHjXce3tbZfA2QZ7dAA.jpg)
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jakobowens1?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jakob Owens</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/pump?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>
  

## How To Pump Your Reputation Fast

This seem to be the most interesting part many are looking for. So let's take it step by step. Many newbies see the platform as a blogging platform, which is not wrong, but Hive is much more than that. It takes awhile till one gets used to all the new things we have on Hive and starts to figure out they can do much more than just dropping their post, commenting and collecting rewards. 

The most important thing many don't see yet is that **HIVE IS US!** **WE ARE HIVE!** Hive without us, the user base is nothing, it's just a bunch of useless software and hardware and the best example for that is the legacy chain that we left behind two years ago because we did not want a centralized platform governed by a megalomaniac a**hole who thought money can buy everything. 

Forking was the best thing that could happen to us/Hive! The development since then has been absolutely amazing. We have so many new things today, I can't even list them here and this is still just the beginning. 

You don't have to be a rocket scientist or a coder to contribute on this platform. Regardless of your educational background, you can still find a way to help this platform grow. You can be a community moderator or supporter, you can translate apps, you can be a curator or a tester, or just help newbies get familiar with the platform and learn what they need to know. With the growing user base, there's always need for help, so there's always a chance to contribute.  

You can have a lower reputation and still be known by everyone for the your contribution. That is your real reputation, not the number next to your username. This is how you pump your reputation fast. 

![board-gc90564b30_1920.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/erikah/23wqfwgrFqiqVtHuW9nSnZycgY9gAjJzJPdetFSPxed946NAdMAejmuzqscTVC2NdXLfV.jpg)
Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=413157" class="keychainify-checked">Gerd Altmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=413157" class="keychainify-checked">Pixabay</a>

Hive is not just about blogging, this is also about *building Hive*. So instead of watching and waiting for your reputation to go up, start thinking about how you can help Hive grow. Look around to see where you can contribute, how you can put your skills to good use. Build your reputation by contributing to making Hive a better place. That is how you pump your reputation! You can't control the amount of votes you get, that is out of your hands but you can control what you do on the chain as it's up to you. 

If there's someone still here, reading these last lines, thank you for bearing with me. Maybe I have convinced you to start thinking as a web3 user, start making things better, instead of complaining about not getting votes. Hive is US! You, me and the others all together.

**LATER EDIT: In the meantime I have found a post about [How reputation scores are calculated - the details explained with simple math](https://hive.blog/steemit/@digitalnotvir/how-reputation-scores-are-calculated-the-details-explained-with-simple-math).**

This was posted 6 years ago, on the legacy chain. I suppose it's the same system today, but only base layer devs can confirm it.    

<center><img src="https://images.hive.blog/DQmfDaSmTz3y8oavngRrr5mmVhrTXheYoEU4qhGUS7pq3xh/HiveDivider.png"></center>

If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
- [Communities Explained - Newbie Guide](https://peakd.com/hive-174578/@erikah/communities-explained-newbie-guide)
- [Cross Posting And Reposting Explained, Using PeakD](https://peakd.com/hive-174578/@erikah/cross-posting-and-reposting-explained-using-peakd)
- [Hive Is Not For Me](https://peakd.com/hive-150329/@erikah/hive-is-not-for-me)

<center><a href="https://www.presearch.org/signup?rid=2058286" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://presearch.org/images/rf/ban-4.jpg" title="Presearch" alt="presearch" />
</a></center>