It's fine as it is. In the beginning, I think, most people took it seriously and awarded rep based on posts or agreeable comments. At some point it became in vogue to simply rep your friends, or maybe anyone. I don't think that it is a gauge of real board reputation, by design and by actual practice, it probably never could be.
I look at it from a few points of view: It is entertaining and fun - and simple. If it becomes a complex tool, with half points, adjustable points, whatever, I think the fun (and certainly the simple) aspect is gone. I do not think that my reputation (whatever you think it is) is based on my rep points. I work awfully hard to make this board function and live as best as I can. If I had 1 point or 300, I would do the same job. A real Reputation is built over time, clearly unlike rep points. A real reputation can also be destroyed in a matter of seconds (in our cases, a matter of posts).
I can't possibly judge, and judging I often must do here, a member based on rep points. I know most active members visually by sigs and avatars first, their most visited threads second, and by what they do in those threads third. (Order not important) There are some members with 100+ points that imo do not do very much at all. There are some members (and a prominent mod AJ) that are under 100 rep points and are imo essential to the daily life of the board. I realized a long time ago (board time) that the old fashioned method of knowing someones history was the best way to judge them and develop for them in my head, a reputation.
So, I don't want to complicate the rep points issue. It's fun and light and not so serious from my moderators POV. I don't want to see it disappear. (From a mod POV it is often the only way that we can instantly reach a member that is breaking the rules - many disable PMs, email and such.)
OTOH It may be a good idea to ease up on the Congrats threads for each quicker approaching rep point benchmark. FWIW I have always been a vocal (behind the scenes with Admin) supporter of the Congratulatory, Celebratory and Birthday threads. They add a nice, supportive and friendly atmosphere to the board.
Our board is an entertaining, fun, easy going place. Let's keep things simple too - rep points are fun. They are not who we are and more importantly, they are not what we do on the board.
