Karma - Yay or Ney?

[Admin]

Karma was enabled on this forum due to user input and I thought it was a good time to get some user input again. This poll will run for one week to try and get a feeling for how it's working out.

[Renaissance]

I think it's fun but not everyone shares this opinion.  I don't know if the forum's software has the capability to do this, but ideally posters could opt in or out of having karma enabled.  That way if you don't want to deal with it, you can just turn it off.

It's a good point that you don't want it to have a chilling effect on new users.  I can see turning it off for that reason alone.

[TURobY]

I'm torn, because it can give a new user the opportunity to quickly see if the poster provides worthwhile discussion. And for that, I think that it is a worthwhile feature.

However, as it is currently being used, it appears to be a system of people 'dinging' each other over opposing viewpoints. This forum should encourage all viewpoints, provided that each opposing viewpoint is willing to discuss as rational individuals.

I try to provide karma to someone who is talking about a legitimate topic and is providing value to the forum, even if I don't necessarily agree with them.

[cannon_fodder]

I can take it or leave it.  I find it amusing, but not really indicative of the value of a poster.  Guido is -666 (or so), and while I frequently disagree with his position and he has been a bit of an AOX style spam Nazi lately and he did pour sugar in my gas tank, he is at least reasoned in his opinions.   

[nathanm]

Lose the karma, add a private thumbs up feature that is only visible to the two users involved. If you haven't got anything good to say, don't say it at all. If it's bad enough that a reasonable rebuttal in a comment isn't the right way to go, that's precisely why the button to report a post to the moderators exists.

And yes, as TURobY mentions, it would be nice to have if some weren't giving out bad karma either just for shits and giggles or because they disagree with a point of view, no matter how rationally presented and reasonably debated.

I am curious as to whether there's a concerted effort on the part of one or more posters (and their sock puppets?) to abuse the karma system so as to start this discussion and get it disabled.

[custosnox]

the thumbs up comment gave me a thought, why not have just thumbs up and thumbs down on individual comments.  Maybe a way to see who voted up or down.  Would be more useful to people to see why others are having a problem with their postings.

[Conan71]

Take it away.  I've already had a hard enough time adjusting to the new format as it is. 

[Gold]

I've seen other boards where you at least know who gave you the plus or minus; some even have comments.  When I first saw that system, I thought it was a joke -- it allows certain groups to quickly attack someone's rating (in that case, Rice Owl fans, the worst fans, er fan, on the interwebs).  But overall, I think a board with a lot of traffic and different viewpoints balances that out. 

I could go either way on this particular system.  I don't like the anonymity, but at the same time, it does seem to deter a few trolls, while others seem to not care and go about their business.

[Hometown]

I voted to get rid of it.

[Townsend]

I enjoy it but I think it bothers a few posters and may keep them from participating.

I vote ney.

[Gaspar]

I think Karma serves some purpose. 

In other forums I find that Karmic votes are passed not on what you say but on how you say it.  I think the score can encourage a poster's manors more than anything.

We have a wealth of intelligence on both sides of every issue in this forum.  That is rare for a local forum and shows a great deal of intellectual diversity for our little community.  I think those who blast others with bad karma simply as a form of revenge are countered by those who truly have something to offer. 

I award Karma in many instances to those I don't agree with based solely on how they present their opinion.  I award bad karma for anger, language, and stupidity.

I view my fluctuating Karmic score as a reflection of my over all ability to present a point.

I think that as long as we all understand some basic principals for the use of Karma, we can find some benefit in it, and it can help us to preform better as a community.  Sure there are those who will abuse it, but I believe we have more genuine participants than sycophants.

Together if we understand the ground rules we can ensure that scores are awarded according to merit by recognizing when someone is being unfairly targeted and countering the attack. 

It adds another dimension of empowerment to the forum.

It also helps new posters to immediately identify respected members, and ignore the attacks and ideological violence of some.

[PonderInc]

I didn't vote, b/c "I don't care either way" wasn't an option.

A lot of people seem to view karma as some sort of junior high status symbol...taking and giving it as part of a weird attempt to prove something.

I assume that some folks are logging in just to "punish" people they don't like by repeatedly taking away their karma.  And there are probably some "back room" deals being made as well: "I'll give you some if you give me some."

Ish.  Grow up.  Whatever.

I have used it to disapprove of childish or offensive behavior/language...but not a particular stance.  I don't really have a policy for when to "give" karma.  Hmmm... for bold and daring ideas?  For well-argued positions?  For being polite in the face of jerkitude?  I'll have to think on that one.

In the corporate world, people get in a tizzy over who's got the corner office, the dual monitors, or a blackberry.  On the internet, it seems, we must waste our energies on who's got the most imaginary "karma."

[GG]

Another board I belong to allows you to opt out of it or keep it.   

I opted out of it and would here too if given the choice.   It reminds me of Jr. High people judging who the cool kids are and who the uncool kids are based on their biased opinion. 

[Ed W]

Karma is meaningless when it devolves into a pissing match or is used as a measure of popularity.  A more accurate gauge is how articulate and reasoned an argument any participant posts here.  They're not as easily quantified, and sometimes the posts here force us into thinking about issues in new, unexpected ways.

So my opinion is that karma should be deleted.  It's a simplistic, inadequate measure of a diverse field of thought.

[BKDotCom]

¿What karma feature?
(I just for the first time noticed "Approve/dissaprove" links.. perhaps that's what we're talkin' bout.