I have been a member of quite a few forums before this one, and was a member for a number of years before becoming a mod here. I would not have stayed if this forum wasn't a friendly and helpful place - if you don't find it to be so, there's plenty of other fish in the sea, so to speak.
One of the things that I think sets M-F apart is the family-friendly atmosphere. Not everyone likes that sort of thing, but I think keeping out the usual cruft that you see crop up on a lot of forums (namely, over the top language, scam artists and spam) really makes the forum more enjoyable. And the reputation system does its part to keep people from flaming and otherwise being rude. To me, that is one of the many things that keeps the tone upbeat and friendly.
If you follow the rules, are generally friendly and don't cop an attitude, you'll see that your reputation increases rapidly. I think in the time that I've been here and after receiving hundreds of positive feedback remarks, I can only count the number of negative ones on one hand.
The rep system has very well defined rules - and if you think someone is abusing it, by all means, let us know. We'll be happy to investigate and make corrections as necessary.