SO isn't SU - just cause they're all stackexchange sites dosen't make you a subject expert on all of them. I have 70K here. Does that make me a great programmer? (Nope. I have [210 rep][1], mostly from correcting ONE typo). Does it make me a [great parent][2]? Does it have anything to do with my [knowledge of pets][3]? (well, I have 555 rep). For that matter, does it have anything to do with my [sysadmin chops][4]? In short, your SO rep dosen't count for anything here. On the other hand, as a lower rep user there's always the option of suggested edits, so you arn't losing much. Its free rep. I'd note I'm a *moderator* here, and I still need to flag things like a pleb, and often do suggested edits like anyone else of low rep elsewhere. :) You'll just have to consider a good answer its own reward first. [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/users/674571/journeyman-geek [2]: http://parenting.stackexchange.com/users/9886/journeyman-geek [3]: http://pets.stackexchange.com/users/429/journeyman-geek [4]: https://serverfault.com/users/33193/journeyman-geek