<p>I'll make a value judgement (which the other posters seem to be reluctant to do): in my opinion, this is probably a misfeature or undesirable consequence of the way CW works.  The site sometimes feels a bit too aggressive in turning something to CW, and that has unexpected consequences that create weird incentives, as you outlined.</p>

<p>In the grand scope of things, it is a minor problem, so the answer is to just live with it; it's only two points, and we don't want people to get <em>too</em> obsessed over points anyway.  But I just wanted you to know that I hear you.  I think your confusion and puzzlement over why you lost reputation is entirely valid and understandable.  I think the current behavior is probably less than ideal, though I do understand it is a tradeoff between many factors.  In any case, I'd guess it's probably not going to get changed, given that it has a relatively small effect.</p>
