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Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#51

Post by wumi »

brlewis wrote: post #27
xenoterracide wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no. that's why it IS funny, 'cause it's true. It's sad too, though. If pg says anything he gets at least 50 points for being pg. The rest is because pg is actually smart and doesn't usually say dumb unthoughtful things.

pg's median comment score is 4: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=166110 More people read pg's comments, so he does get more upvotes than the same words would if coming from someone else. However, to say that you can mention pg in a comment to get more votes is neither true nor particularly funny.

he mentioned posting an article related to PG, not just comments

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#52

Post by jrockway »

technoguyrob wrote: post #49
jrockway wrote: post #18

I care. Reddit was destroyed by trolls and joke accounts. They get downmodded quickly, but they keep coming back and spamming every article. Even though comments are the main point of Reddit, you get no credit for posting good ones and no penalty for posting spam. Slashdot had the right idea when you were limited to one post a day (or whatever) when your karma got to -10. If you can't write content that other people…

Did you just say /b/ instead of Hacker News? Those are like as extreme as you can get on the two ends of the spectrum.

I meant that we should convince the trolls that /b/ is where they should post, so they don't clog reddit and hacker news with their drivel.

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#53

Post by dreish »

gaika wrote: post #34
concealed wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The principal effect of karma here is not how it helps you judge your fit, but how it actively shapes the community/content. This effect was clearly visible on reddit as it was realized that the more sensational content was vastly more promoted in the reddit karma system. So my question: What is the value of high quality content ordering? Are the present ordering strategies on HN/reddit/[insert karma-based discovery…

Take a look at my startup, we're trying to push a different system for ranking stuff. I personally think there's a lot more value in it. But sometimes people prefer simple algorithms that are easier to understand, there's value in it too.

I like how you automatically assign a guest ID so visitors can try out the customization features right away, and think, "Hell, I'm halfway to joining -- might as well go the rest of the way now." The same thing could have been done invisibly with a cookie, but then the psychological hook wouldn't be there.

That's a very clever detail.

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#54

Post by Jesin »

No, I don't like the karma system. It has too much potential to discourage dissent. I like the upvote/downvote system for comments and stories, but keeping track of karma turns it into a punishment/reward system.

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#55

Post by Jesin »

kashif wrote: post #32
concealed wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The principal effect of karma here is not how it helps you judge your fit, but how it actively shapes the community/content. This effect was clearly visible on reddit as it was realized that the more sensational content was vastly more promoted in the reddit karma system. So my question: What is the value of high quality content ordering? Are the present ordering strategies on HN/reddit/[insert karma-based discovery…

Hmmm..A better ordering system might improve things but I am not aware of any simple alternatives.

We're only talking about ditching karma, the running total for each user. We would still be able to upvote/downvote stories and comments, but those votes would only effect the individual story or comment, not the user who posted it.

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#57

Post by yters »

kashif wrote: post #40
gaika wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easy, you just have to take time since you've joined and # of posts and comments into account: I can see that you joined a year ago but didn't gain much karma. That means that you're an old timer, but a lurker, who doesn't post or comment often. nickb and other top 10 karma users define this community and they lead by example. I joined just recently, because I somebody posted a story about my startup and I had to com…

So you suggest that all people who do not post often enough do not fit into the community. And that posting often is the metric to drive? And because, in our current example, you have a higher karma per day, you belong to this community as opposed to me? But if nickb was to read this comment then you and I might both be trivial? Finally, as a supposed 'lurker', it might serve me better not to login and just read subm…

I agree, lack of karma shouldn't say anything negative about your inclusion in the community here. The info is free, so it's not like only major contributors belong.

In fact, if it were the case that only the high karma belong, there'd be nothing to contribute to and no high karma. People like kashif and the thousands of other lurkers are why this community exists in the first place, much more so than nickb or any of the other leaders.

Speaking for myself, I have a high karma because I'm a slacker. I consider it an inverse metric of my worth.

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#58

Post by yters »

gaika wrote: post #2

Yes, I care, as a form of trust metric: For the person: it is a simplest way to see if you fit or not in this community. For the community: quickly judge if the post or comment is spam or not.

I totally disagree. The best way to judge if a post is "spam" and if someone is a "spammer" is based on the content. I downvoted your post because it both is a poor form of reasoning and it is needlessly alienating to others.

I don't downvote often, and I don't have anything against you, but it is important that everyone, especially the lurkers, feel welcome here. My downvote is to show you don't speak for all of the community, since this response and my karma means your comment is self refuting.

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#59

Post by yters »

ph0rque wrote: post #7

I had a karma of ~350 until the software glitch at the beginning of the month. At first, I cared, but then I realized that it's not important in the grand scheme of things. However, I would like to get my #CBDDFF top bar back, and have the down arrows available again. Otherwise, it's no big deal :~).

Yeah, same reasoning with me. All I wanted was to change the top bar color. Then I started getting close to the leader board and I suddenly need to grind points:D Vote me down to save my soul from the karma!

- EDIT -

I want to add that my most recent submission that did get me a lot of karma was not posted for the sake of karma. I genuinely am curious and I appreciate all the responses.

Re: Ask YC: Do you care about Karma?

#60

Post by yters »

plinkplonk wrote: post #10

I don't care about Karma. Mostly. One day I noticed that I had about 180 karma and decided to try for 250 so I could change the colour of the Navbar. After clearing 250 (and changing the color to a nice soothing green vs the default orange), I find I don't really care about Karma. A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon. - Napoleon

Wait till you get close to the leader board. Then there will be a challenge again. It's insidious.
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