Last time this topic was topical on HN (about 6 months ago) I put my thoughts in a blog post http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/199-my-pond-theory-or-how-socia

Last time this topic was topical on HN (about 6 months ago) I put my thoughts in a blog post http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/199-my-pond-theory-or-how-social-networks-avoid-failing http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/199-my-pond-theory-or-ho... I posed that size limits on membership and censorship were options - even using Bayesian filtering as a tool. If I re-wrote those posts, I would definitely include descriptors as a partial solution. The karma game falls apart because the people whose thoughts are most encouraged are those who care about karma the least. edit: I'm only applying this to social sites like those discussed here. On a site like eBay, there is much greater utility in the karma number and also much more restriction over its use and what it represents.