The real useful part of having voting power is this: because I gave myself a 25% upvote, my post moved to the top of your comments where it's going to have a better chance at getting read. That really helps when posts and comments get long......so, don't upvote me. Get your power back up first. Then pick your spots until you get the hang of what you can and can't do to keep it full. If you know you're going to be out of the loop for a few days, vote your power down to where it will be full when you come back....