What type of 'reputation' / thanking system is offered with SMF?

[INQUISITOR1]

Just wondering how advanced the 'rep' system is with SMF?

Can one also limit sig lines to members with a certain min. number of postings first?

[Cassiel]

Well there is always the Advanced Reputation System mod by Ha² located here.

As for the second one, by default there isn't. But it's always possible by editing your code.

[Kill Em All]

There is also the default karma system with just +1 and -1 Karma, I believe you can change the amount of Karma changed per "smite" and "applaud" to.

Second one> Admin>Configuration>Features and Options> Signatures

It doesn't offer per post though. Take a look at this though, I think you can apply it to post count groups:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=2279

[INQUISITOR1]

If one installed such a mod, how would this affect upgrades.

For instance, if I did an original SMF installation from the latest version of SMF today, then installed the 'advanced rep' mod, next week, and then upgraded SMF to the latest version in two months - would the mod (or SMF forum) possibly break in any way?

As an SMF noob, I'm trying to grok the implications and nature of SMF upgrades as they might affect any customizations and installed mods. If someone can help clarify these issues for me, I"d be indebted. Thanks!

[Kill Em All]

Possibly, SMF might change some code that the mod uses thus breaking the mod, you would need to find a way around it or the mod author would have to update it. Looking at the edits for that mod, I don't see much that could go wrong when an update comes out.