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Ask PG: Why does everything start with 1 point that doesn't actually count?
Everything (submissions and comments) starts with 1 point but that 1 point is not really counted in your karma. Only after you get an upvote do you get an increase in karma. But the point value associated with any given item is always 1 higher than the net karma change. I'm just curious about the thinking behind it.
- WestCoastJustin 13y ago> How is a user's karma calculated? [1] Roughly, the number of upvotes on their submissions and comments, minus the number of downvotes. (The numbers won't exactly match up, because some votes aren't counted to prevent various types of abuse.) [1] http://ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html http://ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html
- jack-r-abbit 13y agoThanks for that. But it doesn't really answer my question. I know how Karma is calculated and that does not really explain why everything starts with 1 point that isn't counted.
- stonemetal 13y agoI haven't read the source for the site but I would guess that it is an implementation artifact. You don't get to vote on your own comments, so the arrows need to go away, the arrows go away after you vote, so why not make it an automatic self vote? You thought it measured up to be worth posting so you must think it worth an upvote right?
- jack-r-abbit 13y agoBut then people could game the karma by submitting/posting stuff that might not be worthy. Why not just start everything with 0 points and let the karma flow from there?
- brudgers 13y agoI suspect it has to do with gamification and social engineering. One point, even though it represents zero up votes has a more positive connotation than zero points. Also, one point may signify that the comment contributes to the discussion more strongly than a zero. In the end, though, points are non-fungible and karma only matters in the way a person lets it.