Conflict with userpoints when saving user profile

In userpoints_basic.module, you can give users points for creating nodes. Giving points for a usernode is the (only known) possibility to offer some basic points to new users, so they could start with anything but frustrating 0 points. This works fine.

Unfortunately, each time account settings (or profile sections) are saved, the user gets the points for creation again.

Reason for this is, that userpoints_basic.module expects the saved node to be prepared before it's getting saved.

Here's the critical excerpt from userpoints_basic.module:

function userpoints_nodeapi(&$node, $op, $teaser, $page) {
  static $orig_uid;
  $points = variable_get(USERPOINTS_POST . $node->type, 0);
  switch($op) {
    // some cases
    case 'prepare':
      $orig_uid = $node->uid;
      break;
    case 'update':
      if ($node->uid != $orig_uid) {
        // Add to the new node owner
        userpoints_userpointsapi('points',$points, $node->uid, $node->type);

        // subtract from the original node owner
        $points = -$points;
        userpoints_userpointsapi('points',$points, $orig_uid, $node->type);
      }
      break;
  }
}

Of course, this is not the best way of looking for new nodes or those whose owner has changed. I cannot think of a better solution and maybe this won't be the only case where usernode.module could conflict with other modules in this step.

My suggestion is to wrap the critical section in usernode.module into a node_prepare() command. There are so many functions in usernode that deal with savings that I don't know where to wrap it correctly. So please find a solution or give me a hint where to put it so I would also write a patch for it. Solutions how userpoints_basic.module could be improved instead are also welcome.