There's nothing special about the "superusers" other than their decision to act. I can think of another parallel: Homeowner's Associations (setting aside my ow

There's nothing special about the "superusers" other than their decision to act. I can think of another parallel: Homeowner's Associations (setting aside my own issues with them for a moment). I would guess that a similarly disproportionate number of homeowners choose to attend HOA meetings, and thus have an outsized effect on the direction and rules of the neighborhood. As a "reward" for not just showing up, but being among the minority to do so, they have a louder voice. This "effort" is analogous to commenting/voting/etc. on HN/social sites. As long as there are nothing that stops the individuals (homeowners, lurkers) from participating, I see no issues with it.