People say it's a good tool to keep scammers in check and get a free T-shirt at level 8

However, it's far more meaningful.

Once you reach level 10, you receive a round-trip to Richard Dawkins' house to have one private conversation. There, he whispers to you the three secrets of atheism, which you cannot utter, lest your bowels tear themselves inside out, and your "soul" is ripped from your body, only to be sent for permanent torture in the deepest recesses of hell.

These three secrets are closely guarded (obviously) and are rumored to deal with the end of time itself.

Plus I hear The Dawk has a sweet marinara pool you can both float naked in while eating breadsticks.

I agree with the other comments. The points system is a nice way to tell who is here to actually participate meaningfully and who is just here to cause problems.

Who cares? I am not here for points.

I like it, keeps the scammers in check. I, myself don’t pay much attention to points as I’m here for the community.

It certainly encourages participation without penalizing anyone who's just here to watch. I don't participate to win points; I participate to participate, and may hit a wall because of that.

Good way to keep control of scammers and bots.
Also, I don’t mind. Here for community.

Love it! It's got some cons to it but the advantages far outweigh them.

It’s fun. Gives you something to do and keeps scammers and bullshit down a bit.

I don't like it. It seems like a tool to build consistent audience numbers. When I join something, I want full access. If stuff I want is unavailable because of an arbitrary point system, I won't stick around long.

The idea behind it is that as you accrue points, you receive certain privileges - for example, Level 1 users cannot directly contact other users, which prevents spambots signing up and sending us all links/malware/etc. At higher levels, a user can approve comments by newer users, the thinking being that anyone who has been around the place and participated enough to have reached that level probably isn't going to use their new powers for nefarious purposes, and those that might become a problem are likely to have been spotted and "contained" (which is the codeword we use around here when we mean pushed into the trunk of car, driven into the forest and shot) before they reach that level.

It doesn't always work - it's possible to reach Level 8 very quickly, if you have the time to spend making inane posts and comments purely to gather points - it's easy to spot those users. But, a lot of long-term users here will tell you that this is a far nicer place to be than any other social media website, so it does work enough of the time to be worthwhile.

I think that it is a good thing to make people have to do a little work before having access to certain things such as message people. It decreases the number of people here for the wrong reason because it is easier to do those things elsewhere.

It serves a purpose. It gives members a sense of achievement for their contribution. It has some anomalies, but only a few seem obsessed by points. Like a lot of people here, mine just roll on in the background and I concern myself with my humble contributions and only that.

Welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.

The point system causes many people much consternation.
I've had my issues with it, but I'm pretty sure I'm passed all that now.

I think how much it effects a person, is directly related to just how competitive
a person is.

Think of it as they explained it in "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
"The points don't matter."

It helps us find scammers. It helps members know if you're serious about participation or just here to troll.

It's a weed out tool to a point.

I’m only commenting to accumulate points. Please like my comment. ?

They mattered to me when I got near level 8. The shirt and pen were a nice perk. Now, there's nothing that points will do for me. I'm well below half way to level 9, and I don't think I'll stick around for as long as it'll take to get there.

How do you feel about points?

We need to know you are committed. Hence, ya gotta post some shit to get in the door.

I think there should be a three point line that awards those that can post or comment at a distance.

Neither atheist or agnostic believes in a supernatural deity. Atheist are just more sure of their decision, so it is said. But, most all atheists agree that if given proof of the existence of a supernatural deity, they would believe. “Show me the evidence”, and it has to be good scientific evidence, confirmed by many studies over time as all scientific theories must be.

It is designed to encourage being active. Not bad. Agnostic.com is young. Give them time and I am sure they will be more creative going forward. It certainly he best platform to post your views easily about religion, politics and sexy pictures I have found than any other.

Thank all of you for your wonderful replies! Excellent "points"

It's not important to me.