For more information on reputation check this (ancient) thread where it was discussed in great detail :)
When you get a reputation boost that shows "Even" and has a grey box it means the person who gave the rep was not capable of raising or lowering your rep score (usually very new members).
Only green (positive) and red (negative) boxes next to the reputation attempt reflect in a change to your reputation level. The amount they reflect is determined by that particular user's ability to change reputation which is in turn (at least partially) determined by THEIR reputation.
Hope this helps :) Please mark as resolved if it resolves your issue.
Edit: After looking at both threads you linked and checking the reputation giver's profile they are both showing as "Newbie Poster" and more importantly showing:[INDENT]Power to Affect Someone Else's Reputation Positively: 0 points
Power to Affect Someone Else's Reputation Negatively: 0 points[/INDENT]Edit 2: Had to add this lol... Also a person can only give reputation up to 10 times in a day if I read it properly which is likely why the rep boost I just received didn't actually affect me.
