explain the rep points please

Can someone please explain in full detal what the rep points are all about? I have gathered that you can leave a rep point for someone but how do you view them? When i click the thing at the botom of my posts it only says " you have 10 rep points" or something like that. What does that mean? 10 good, 10 bad, 10 funny, 10 A$$ hole ? What? Please explain it I know there are others on the forums who cannot figure it out either. Also how do you check others rep points?
Thankyou in advance :wink:

hey bud I dont think anyone knows for sure except maybe Igor...