No,it's not the same thing as the daycare example. The issue with daycare late fines is that they allow a person to "pay off" bad behavior, therefore reducing g

No,it's not the same thing as the daycare example. The issue with daycare late fines is that they allow a person to "pay off" bad behavior, therefore reducing guilt and therefore increasing it's likelihood. Here the OP is discussing rewarding "good" behavior. The psychology is not necessarily the same. I am surprised at the negative comments on this thread. The feelings the OP is experiencing are real and even legitimate. The reality is that sites do profit massively from user contributed content, and an asymmetry in the perceived value of the transaction can clearly exist. Frankly it amazes me that it has taken this long for rumblings like this to appear.