A broken reputation is perhaps the hardest of all things to rebuild; yet, what does having a reputation on Steemit actually mean?
I'm sure many new and maybe older Steemians have wondered what that little grey circle, containing a small (hopefully) double digit number next to your username actually means.
Obviously the number itself is derived from an algorithm that among other things, will take number of posts to votes ratio into account.
Hence a new user may have a rep score of 25, however once you start posting and commenting on people's articles, they vote for you and your rep starts to increase.
One of the benefits of a higher rep is a greater trust level. For instance the amazing Fluffy Bank Of Neoxian, run by the Steemit user 
There are other benefits to an enhanced reputation, such as the social proof aspect of it. A high rep is a symbol that marks you as somebody who has been vetted by the community.
A new user with a rep in the 50s or 60s is a sign that they have been handsomely rewarded for their content, indicating the higher quality of posts they put out. Which in turn will persuade more people to follow and vote for them.
These are all obvious things, and nothing new in the grand scheme of social media. However the negative effects of bad reputation on Steemit, are being ignored by a lot of new users, and I'm beginning to think it's because they don't quite understand how things work around here.
Let me explain, because if you are in the category of new user who doesn't care about your rep, I think you will care after reading this.
The Ghosts In The Steem Machine
So votes earn you rep points, the flip side of that is, flags lose you points.
The more flags you get the lower your reputation slides, if you get enough whale flags, a minus sign will appear next to that little grey number.
Occasionally somebody will flag a post because they don't agree with the opinion expressed in the article. However this is fairly rare on Steemit, unless you are openly hateful, your views are unlikely to be flagged, especially whale flagged.
No, the thing that gets people's heckles up more than anything else, is spam. In that respect Steemit is no different from any other internet community. Where Steemit differs, is that the penalties for spam are much greater.
The worst thing about this punishment, is its silent, you won't even realise it's happening to you . . . slowly, but surely, you are becoming a ghost.
Where The Ghosts Roam
When you become a Steemit ghost, nobody but you can see your posts, and I'm not just talking about a comment that has a hidden sign next to it. I mean none of your posts will show up on any feed anywhere, even with a hidden sign.
You exist in the realm between the blockchain and physical reality, for ever cursed by a silence that you can't see.
You're invisible, without a face without a voice, you can post as much as you want, but that's it, you won't be seen.
Once that rep hits zero, that's it, you're gone, your posts destined to make $0.00 forever more ... . . .
You still exist on the blockchain of course, and if you or anyone else with the know how and the will to, can find your posts on the graphene blockchain.
But for anyone else visiting Steemit, you are a nobody, if they do by some weird miracle, stumble across your profile page, it will just be a page of ghosted posts, they won't even know your name.
Perhaps they'll wonder why you are ghosted, maybe they'll even reveal some of your posts, but even if they do, it won't be long before they shy away. As is natural in the human race, nobody wants to associate with the pariahs.
The End Of Doom & Gloom
So all is not lost; do not despair yet! You can save your reputation, it might be 11 now, but tomorrow it could return to 25 and beyond.
Perhaps after awhile, after you have behaved properly for some weeks or months, you can write a post about how you have fixed the error of your ways. Maybe the votes that the article gains will bring you back from the brink.
Just remember the higher your rep, the more likely your posts will make anything, it is not a guarantee. The only guarantee on Steemit, is a rock-bottom reputation, will ensure that you make nothing.
Think Kaiser Soze in the Usual Suspects
...and poof! Just like that, he's gone. My guess is, you'll never see him again.
HAVE YOU FULL REALISED THE HORROR OF A ZERO REPUTATION SCORE? DO YOU POST YOUR LINKS ON UNRELATED BLOGS, OR LEAVE SPAM COPY AND PASTE COMMENTS ON HUNDREDS OF ARTICLES? IF SO BEWARE, YOU COULD BECOME A GHOST!
IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS, AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW.