Redditors often use the awards as a way to send a message that stands out from a regular replies. Reddit also gives away freebie points on occasion in order to

Redditors often use the awards as a way to send a message that stands out from a regular replies. Reddit also gives away freebie points on occasion in order to entice users into getting into the habit of awarding posts. So it's possible a lot of those rewards are disgruntled redditors using their free rewards to send him a message.