3 ms·
By why does karma matter? Why should I care about an integer assigned to an anonymous online pseudonym? It doesn't change that your fundamental carrot is being
by lmkg 16y ago
By why does karma matter? Why should I care about an integer assigned to an anonymous online pseudonym? It doesn't change that your fundamental carrot is being a valued member of a community. It gives an objective measurement of that, as opposed to reading (and potentially misinterpreting) what the community view of your contribution. Attaching the notion of a score is useful for manipulating behavior, but people aren't going to try for that high score unless it's associated with something they already find valuable. The karma system helps and reinforces the community aspect, but a karma system will not in and of itself grant quality of discourse.
- lotharbot 16y agoOn HN, high karma comments are more visible than low-karma comments. Instead of giving everyone the same soapbox regardless of quality, HN gives quality comments a better soapbox. I don't mean to imply that Boston.com could simply copy the HN system and be successful. Merely that the concept of "carrots" and "sticks" they present in the concluding section is too limited. Being a valued member of the community is one type of carrot that encourages quality contributions; having high visibility for your comments is a different carrot that encourages fast and aggressive posting. Being embarrassed by having your real name associated with stupidity is one stick; having your comments removed and therefore not influencing people is another. The article touched on this ("a more basic question needs to be answered first: Who are these people who spend so much of their days posting anonymous comments, and what is motivating them?"), but didn't really follow through by identifying appropriate carrots and sticks to encourage good comments.