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I wonder how this relates to how we view karma on HN. Is higher karma meant to imply higher competence? The average karma per comment experiment from a few da
by te_platt 18y ago
I wonder how this relates to how we view karma on HN. Is higher karma meant to imply higher competence? The average karma per comment experiment from a few days ago seemed designed around that concept. Is karma just another way of making us feel more important or capable?
- jwesley 18y agoI see karma as a way to motivate more activity on the site. It turns participating into a game that you can win, which gets people's competitive juices flowing. We all love measuring ourselves against other people.
- whacked_new 18y agoLet me be your first counterexample. I can't care less about the number attached to my account. You want to up mine? Be my guest. Aside of this though, it is easy to get a high Karma/posts ratio. How to do it? If you know damn well what you're talking about every time you post, you will accrue lots of Karma from being informative. There are a few gurus here and they're easy to spot. They will have high Karma, whether they care or not. Some, like me, who aren't biological data troves, are happy to expose their ignorance and ask stupid questions, and deal with occasional (and mysterious) downmods.