I sometimes upvote thread starters, but not in the same way I upvote answers (obviously). If I like the problem the OP is trying to solve and he has put effort in the question, I will upvote it. Sometimes I upvote them for no conscious reason. It depends. I rarely downvote them, though, unless they are blatantly aggressive or something.
That said, I did not see the thread AlphaProgDes is referring to, for the very good reason that I was.. well.. sleeping. So I have an alibi 
“If I understand the standard right it is legal and safe to do this but the resulting value could be anything.”
Pretty much this. I do sometimes rarely upvote the thread starter, but for the most part i don't think of it.Honestly, the very thought of even upvoting threads had not occurred to me until I saw this.
I think that those who help should be rated, not the OP, unless OP modifies his question revealing the solution or such
Because OP is a ...
Oh wait. Wrong forum.
