Eh, it could help discern trolls (like when a user has -6900 Karma, you know they have dogshit takes) and could inspire actually insightful commentary (since it’s usually the more ingenious comments that get upvotes). But on the other hand, there are definitely some big cons to having a Karma-like system.
Many years ago on reddit, you could get given gold. It gave you paid benefits. My comments earned me literally years worth of gold, and my karma was similarly increasing.
Then I came out as trans. Suddenly the gold stopped and my karma stagnated
That kind of bias is built in to the karma system. It doesn’t just punish shit takes, it also sidelines visible minorities
Honestly, a person’s actual post history should be more relevant and indicative to whether they’renworth engaging with tham a single number.
Furthermore, aside from deliberate trolls, most comments or posts should be assessed on their own merits, irrespective of the poster’s history.
People are complex, and it’s possible that raving political idiots might have thoughtful opinions on their favourite video game or the aspects that make a perfect butt.
Why should it?
We can see all the negatives every day with reddit.
What positive does a Karma system bring to the platform and discussions?
Eh, it could help discern trolls (like when a user has -6900 Karma, you know they have dogshit takes) and could inspire actually insightful commentary (since it’s usually the more ingenious comments that get upvotes). But on the other hand, there are definitely some big cons to having a Karma-like system.
Many years ago on reddit, you could get given gold. It gave you paid benefits. My comments earned me literally years worth of gold, and my karma was similarly increasing.
Then I came out as trans. Suddenly the gold stopped and my karma stagnated
That kind of bias is built in to the karma system. It doesn’t just punish shit takes, it also sidelines visible minorities
Honestly, a person’s actual post history should be more relevant and indicative to whether they’renworth engaging with tham a single number.
Furthermore, aside from deliberate trolls, most comments or posts should be assessed on their own merits, irrespective of the poster’s history.
People are complex, and it’s possible that raving political idiots might have thoughtful opinions on their favourite video game or the aspects that make a perfect butt.
Because when you see somebody with -1000 karma, it’s a pretty good indicator that you shouldn’t waste your time engaging with them.
There were plenty of users with high karma that weren’t worth engaging with too.
It only helped with lbvious jerks that you could probably tell were terrible just by reading their post.
Usually you can get the same info just from looking at their last couple comments. Trolls don’t usually very much.
You can take a look at their post history and that will typically tell a lot more than a number next to their name