tgrotvedt's Journal: Slashdot's Karma System Cont'd

Welcome back. If you don't know what this is about, read my previous journal entry entitled "The Simplistic Beauty of Slashdot's Karma System".

Why do people value karma?

There are three main reasons in my opinion why people like to have high karma, these reasons vary according to how the user is aquiring it (eg. whoring, joking, or writing good stuff). The boundaries for these reasons overlap, and are usually a blend of all three.

Reason 1: The "Game" Factor

Many posters see the karma system as an RPG, where the role they play is themselves. The attraction of this role is that they can make their particular "character" appear cool/smart (see Reason 2). Why not just play a much more gameish online RPG or MUD you ask? Because with that, although you could argue that in some ways, you play yourself, you play it in the form of a noble farmer, or feared hunter or something. With the Karma Game, you play yourself, ie. an eccentric, free-thinking, politically minded technologist (or more simply, a geek). For the first time you have found a World in one of your computer games where your real character is just as cool as any D&Desque type. Racking up karma by various means can be a cool game with a very real appeal to it. This reality enhances the insecure roleplayer's feeling or respect, which brings me to Reason 2...

Reason 2: The Eliteness Factor

As many of you know, Slashdot is a forum with most people being very intelligent. I haven't seen any statistics (which would most likely be silly ones anyway), although the discussions tell me that the average Slashdot user is much cleverer than the average human being. Since /. is such an intellectual forum, the insecure, the immature, and the just plain silly will feel more elite if they have high karma. It is human nature to feel some good feelings when your post gets modded up, especially if it was for the right reasons, but that doesn't mean you posted it in order to feel like an 31337 h4x0r. You posted it because you want to have a discussion with fellow technically minded people, have some fun, and hopefully walk away a little bit smarter. That is what /. is for, and a good majority of participants make /. the best place to do it (on or offline). The wannabes however, just want to feel like one of the real techies, and try oh so hard to do it. The karma system is an easy way for them to cheat and recieve their much needed dose of artificial reassurance and security.

Reason 3: A "Louder" Voice

When you have good karma, you get a bonus point, when you get modded up, your post obviosly becomes "louder". This is pretty much the only reason that the true /. contributors and valued posters care about, and it's the only one of these three reasons the moderation system was actually design for. Sadly, this isn't the only reason lots of the posters have for wanting karma, and alot of the Good Guys Of Slashdot don't really care too much about their karma.

Anyways, moderation works, and for the most part very well. In my eyes, the stuff I read on Slashdot (my threshold is zero) is good stuff, and always interesting. Karma is only a small part of the moderation system, and should not be so overrated. It is merely a way of trying to keep the forum interesting (not troll infested), and also gives good posters a couple of perks on the side. Just relax (karma) whores, and try and post good stuff that you would want to read. Chances are that will get modded up more than your formulated score-posts anyway.

Drive carefully...