In essence, the reputation system isn't a bad thing. But its the way its been interpreted and abuse of the system that's led it to be a failure.
On another note, I can't imagine how it would improve the forum in the first place even without the abuse. Redundant would've been the best word to describe it, but with the petty squabbles arising over negative rep and whathaveyou IMO its to a certain extent derogatory to the forum, hence my stance of removing it outright.