skeletonbow: The simplest explanation is to be polite and friendly and generally positive and non-conflictual in the forums and just not give a crap about rep points or how they work. The rest takes care of itself. ;)
The_Blog: That certainly is a good advise, but I am generally interested in how things work. Not to exploit, but to understand the mechanics. =)
Basically from observation over several years, how it works is the more someone cares about their rep score, the lower it becomes, and the more they ask about it in the forums, the lower it goes, while the less they care about it the higher it goes, but it doesn't matter because they don't care and anyone the care about doesn't care either. :)
That's not the numerical answer you're probably seeking, but it's the factual one from the streets. :)