Thanks for this great explanation. I stumbled over the reputation system every now and then and of course you can see people with higher and not so high reputations. I would consider myself to have a medicore reputations, but haven't been for too long on the blockchain - so there wasn't a lot of time to build up Reputation. I am still working on that.
I find it quite helpful to see the numbers, since it can be a starting point, whether that user is just a "newbie" or a "veteran". But is it good beyond the first impression and pre-indication? I am not sure. If I want to find out how someone is being active on the blockchain I look at their posts and comments. This leaves out curations, but I am not sure, if there is an easy way to check those.