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[wysota]

But there is no public consequence.

There will be once people start using the system. For example we'll disable posting in any forums but the newbie forum for people with low reputation.

Where is the reputation rating visible for every one else?

The green rectangle under a user name and user title in each of the posts marks the reputation. Hovering over it will give a more elaborate description. You can compare your reputation, mine and that of franco.ammato - they will differ.