[@NuttsnBolts]
That will nurture likes-mingering. So, essentially trying to buy attention by broadcasting opinions that one believes the majority will like. Those that do not get "positive" or "negative" points will be stuck in suspension between top and bottom, which may lead to the poster feeling neglected/ignored.

Mmm, I don't see how ranking can work; for personal ranking, the person still has to see it before bumping it to the bottom and for public ranking, well, that's quite unfair if someone is stuck in the middle of nowhere like Eustice and Muriel. :lol

[b]However, I do agree that positivity is encouraged.[/b] So how about a Favourite feature? You mark a user as your favourite feed provider, and there will be a list of "Recent Favourites" which shows the latest statuses from them. Then everybody wins!

Trolls/Grinches get their own fans. Other people build up their own customised feed from people they like. A little bit like Subscribe, so to speak. The Favourite box will be the one we see on homepage, where we are also given the option to "See All Statuses" in circulation (including non-favourites).