Why would you get a -1 rep if you give a bad rep, this seems abit unfair, unless ofcourse it is too stop people running around trowing bad rep everywhere.
That is essentially why. It is to limit people to only giving bad rep when they are serious. Personally I have never let it stop me. If I give someone red rep it is for a reason. So I will take the -1 hit.
ok thanks for the answer, my answer came to me while writing this thread, so i just wanted to back it up
When that rule was introduced, it was done retroactively and therefore obliterated some people's rep entirely - which was quite funny at the time.