I think you're working from the assumption that node reputation was designed to be an absolute quantifier of the value of a post.

Not at all! If I haven't been clear on that, I apologize and I'll try again.

I strongly agree that node reputation does not absolutely indicate the value of the post.

I don't think that many people here are actually clueless enough to believe otherwise. The idea that many do believe otherwise is the "bad meme" I mentioned in my reply to Ovid. In particular, I'm somewhat dismayed that you think I would think such. Do my posts indicate that I would lack a rudimentary understanding of what amounts to a fundamentally concept?¹

I do believe a node's reputation itself has value. The current system discounts that value by treating node reputation as second class information and by unnecessarily restricting access to it.

¹You might look at someone's experience before you make such an assumption. Certainly, someone completely new to the site with an experience of, say, ten might not understand the system yet. But by the time someone has reached level four or so they probably have a pretty good idea how the VRE system works. Of course there will always be exceptions but it might not be a bad rule of thumb. This is an example of how data that some would describe as "meaningless" can serve a useful purpose.

-sauoq
"My two cents aren't worth a dime.";