Hi Guys,
This '+1' feature is replacing the "Add to this users reputation" button. Don't stress out though, they are very similar to each other, you can give people thanks for their posts and it will add to their reputation. I have been working on this idea for a long time and strongly believe it is a better system and will greatly help the users experience.
There are many extra benefits to this new system, it is not limited to just giving a rating to members overall worth, but also a rating system to individual posts. Over time as people vote you will not only see who is a valuable contributor through the reputation bar (green bar under your name), you will see which posts in a thread are valuable. As another feature, you can negatively rate posts and if they go low enough they will be hidden from view.
I understand that people may try to abuse this system, however everything is logged and can be easily traced. If you suspect anyone 'targeting' your posts please let me know. Please also note, this is not a replacement for the report posts feature.
There are still some adjustments to be made. I will be moving it to the bottom right of the post instead of the top right. I will also make sure there is some kind of notification when you actually vote.
Regards,
EM