Hey everyone, A bit of background on me, I opened this account over a year ago but only started doing contests this year in preparation for my first time competing in the British Informatics Olympiad. So, I'm still pretty new to all the niche features on Codeforces.

Anyways on to the actual topic, The contribution system on Codeforces made zero sense to me when i joined so I decided to do some research to help other new comers with how to navigate it. There are 2 top boards on the website, Rating for contest performance and Contribution for interaction with the community. How does it work? I may be mistaken so take this part with a grain of salt. I believe that you receive a +1 contribution for every 5 up-votes you receive and a -1 contribution for every down-vote you receive. Some users, speculate that a higher rank up or down voting affects contribution by a greater magnitude however I couldn't find credible for evidence for this.

Why does it affect you? Companies and other users look at your rating to roughly determine your skill however that doesn't prove you as trustworthy. For that employers, will look at contribution. This could make an impact if you are using your account to prove your talent at an interview such as for a SWE (Software Engineer Position).

Thanks for Reading! Hope you enjoyed!