User Activity Scoring Leaderboard

I need a compact scoring engine that records user activity and turns it into a visible, competitive leaderboard on my site. Core logic • Every time a member receives likes or positive ratings the engine should add points, while reports or other penalties should subtract them. The exact values have to be configurable so I can tweak the rules without touching code. • Scores must be stored persistently in the database, recalculated in real time or on a short-interval cron so the numbers feel fresh but don’t overload the server. Display requirements • A public leaderboard that auto-ranks all users by total score, shows the top N positions, and lets visitors page or search the rest. • A small score badge or snippet I can drop into any profile or post template via a simple include. Admin tools • Panel or endpoint where I can: – Change point values for likes, ratings, reports, penalties – Manually adjust an individual score when needed – Clear or recalculate all scores after an update Tech notes Keep the code framework-agnostic; vanilla PHP/MySQL or a Python/Node microservice with REST endpoints would both work, as long as you document setup and a single webhook I can call from my existing “like” and “report” actions. Deliverables 1. Database schema or migration script 2. Core scoring module with clear hooks for: like, rating, report, penalty 3. Leaderboard front-end (HTML/CSS/JS) pulling live data from the module 4. Admin interface or API with the controls above 5. Read-me with install, integrate, and cron instructions plus a short test dataset Acceptance criteria • Adding a like instantly increases the user’s score and moves their position if applicable. • Reports/penalties deduct correctly and can drop a user down the ranking. • Leaderboard loads in under 500 ms with 10,000 users in the table. • All point values can be edited from the admin panel and persist after reload. If you have an existing plugin or library that covers 80 % of this, feel free to propose it—I’m open as long as it meets the criteria and can be styled to match my site.