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Ask DN: Can we get karma points for comments as well?

over 9 years ago from , Product@Waze

Let's assume someone does not always have the best stuff to share but has smart opinions about stuff other people share on DN, and so he gets quite a lot of upvotes for his comments. Can that be reflected in the counter next to his name in the top right corner?

Posting interesting links is important and should be rewarded but having an original and interesting opinion about something is just as worthy of some karma points.

What does everyone think?

44 comments

  • John KarlssonJohn Karlsson, over 9 years ago

    I agree 100%, I rarely post but I try to comment and help out as much as possible. IMHO comments are what makes DN & HN interesting!

    46 points
    • Dustin CartwrightDustin Cartwright, over 9 years ago

      This being said, it's also a better idea to get karma for constructive comments, rather than any sort of comment at all. The last thing DN needs is to end up like Dribble with a few dozen "Fantastic!" "Awesome." "great work." comments on every submission haha.

      7 points
      • John KarlssonJohn Karlsson, over 9 years ago

        I believe (but then again, internet work in mysterious ways) that it would sort itself out if you only got karma for upvotes on comments since I hope people wouldn't upvote "fantastic", "great work" etc.

        10 points
        • James LaneJames Lane, over 9 years ago

          Surely it could work if your comment needs to be upvoted to get karma? You may get the odd upvote on "fantastic" or "great work", but no where near as many upvotes as something constructive!

          4 points
          • Dustin CartwrightDustin Cartwright, over 9 years ago

            Precisely the idea. Comments on DN have had an upvote link for ages, but it's only really served to order comments in terms of popularity (I think). Using it to also give karma would be pretty neat too.

            1 point
      • Gabriel LovatoGabriel Lovato, over 9 years ago

        I totally agree! Fantastic comment! Congratulations, keep up the good work!

        7 points
    • Joe Blau, over 9 years ago

      Karma points will go though the roof if this is implemented.

      0 points
      • Eric H.Eric H., over 9 years ago

        Or perhaps some folks become more selective?

        That being said, HN has downvotes, too, so perhaps you're right.

        0 points
        • Joe Blau, over 9 years ago

          My points on HN are pretty high, although I don't really care about them anymore. It was a fun game for a few months but now I'm over it.

          0 points
          • Eric H.Eric H., over 9 years ago

            ;) you must still be somewhat attached - look at your DN avatar!

            1 point
            • Joe Blau, over 9 years ago

              I need more colors to do what I want with my avatar. Orange was easy to do the YC logo. I can't get colors from comment points though or I would have something a lot more professional like yours :)

              0 points
  • Arun KP, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    We should be able to exchange karma points for free beer.

    31 points
  • Asko NõmmAsko Nõmm, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

    I'm in. There's lots of "Ask DN" questions here which we can answer and if we'd get karma for good answers that would make us want to answer more, kind of like a reward system. And make no mistake, people love reward systems.

    11 points
  • Daniel GoldenDaniel Golden, over 9 years ago

    Please use the feature requests link in the footer to submit feature requests.

    5 points
  • Matt AchariamMatt Achariam, over 9 years ago

    Ohad, we're aware that thoughtful comments are the lifeblood of Designer News. We're working on implementing some exciting features in the near future to help protect and foster the community.

    Next time however, if you'd like to request a feature we have a thread set up for that purpose.

    4 points
    • Drew ShimomuraDrew Shimomura, 9 years ago

      Gotta be honest. I didn't understand that we didn't get karma from comment upvotes. I posted to the thread you mentioned, asking if my account was broken in some way because i had comment upvotes and no karma. I got no response and that was about a month ago.

      So I don't trust that thread.

      I could get the frustration with me: "That's not a feature request, Drew!" Well, I didn't know where else to post. And an admin could have told me i was posting in the wrong place.

      A thread isn't the right format to field feature requests for a number of reasons. Conversations exist from almost a year ago, feature requests build up--that page has way too many comments. And DN is not designed for reading tons of comments (like reddit with its collapsible comments), so there's no way i'm going to get through all of those comments. I bet a lot of different people have posted basically the same comment a number of times because they haven't read through all of the comments, right? And when people cant read through them, really great ones aren't upvoted, because people don't see them...and of course it doesn't help that the 7th highest comment on that thread don't have a clear response to it....

      sigh

      I'm sorry if this is coming off rude--I don't know why. Maybe i'm starting to feel like I'm part of the community and wanting to defend it? Anyways, I just want to be clear that, as a user of DN, there are a number of evident reasons NOT to post to that thread. I'm happy that big concerns aren't being buried in that thread but are making it to the front page. But I'd also be happy to see an improved feedback method that would take the big concerns from the main stories feed, too.

      2 points
  • Luke JonesLuke Jones, over 9 years ago

    What do the points even do?

    3 points
    • Warren DodsdaleWarren Dodsdale, over 9 years ago

      I believe sort comments in "best" order, with highest rated at the top.

      1 point
    • Ohad Ron, over 9 years ago

      They make you feel better inside.

      12 points
      • Luke JonesLuke Jones, over 9 years ago

        Ahhhh yes, pointless gratification...

        4 points
        • Pierre de MillyPierre de Milly, over 9 years ago

          Or free mood-booster, your choice

          2 points
          • Luke JonesLuke Jones, over 9 years ago

            If you look to an arbitrary number to boost your mood, you need to have a bit of a think about what is important in your life.

            0 points
            • Pierre de MillyPierre de Milly, over 9 years ago

              Well, this is a very judgemental statement, full of assumptions.

              Having an expensive car is not important. Yet, if I can have the choice, I'd rather have one.

              2 points
              • Luke JonesLuke Jones, over 9 years ago

                An expensive car isn’t an arbitrary number.

                It could be my biggest dream in life to own an Aston Martin Vanquish, then when I get it I will be fulfilled.

                If your biggest dream in life is to have high karma on Layervault then you need to evaluate what is important in your life.

                It is judgemental, yes. I think people should stop focussing on arbitrary numbers like karma, dribbble likes, or followers on twitter. They are transient. Unimportant. Nonsense.

                0 points
    • Jonathan SvärdénJonathan Svärdén, over 9 years ago

      They give you colors, man! Those sweet, beautiful, mesmerizing colors...

      1 point
    • Nick MNick M, over 9 years ago

      Much like the goggles - nothing

      0 points
    • Andy ChipperfieldAndy Chipperfield, over 9 years ago (edited over 9 years ago )

      Exactly. Can't we just be a community where it doesn't matter who's first, or most liked, or best? Who needs points?

      Why can't we just help each other because it's a nice thing to do?

      0 points
      • Luke JonesLuke Jones, over 9 years ago

        Exactly. None of these nonsense hierarchies.

        The numbers game doesn’t feel conducive to a good industry.

        0 points
  • Giulio MichelonGiulio Michelon, over 9 years ago

    I don't know. Sometimes even jokes get a lot of karma point on the comments.

    3 points
  • Sam Pierce LollaSam Pierce Lolla, over 9 years ago

    Reddit has separate scores for links and comments. That keeps motivation to post new content high while still rewarding discussion.

    2 points
  • Yoav HornungYoav Hornung, over 9 years ago

    Fully agree with you? But don't upvotes for comments count?

    0 points
  • Todd SielingTodd Sieling, over 9 years ago

    I'd much rather see up votes on comments as a strong basis for karma. Contributing articles is karma-worthy, but the discussion and especially the insightful or funny comments that get up votes are the ones I want to reward.

    0 points
  • Casey BrittCasey Britt, over 9 years ago

    People actually care about their DN Karma points? :(

    0 points
  • Nathan NNathan N, over 9 years ago

    I'd like to see a slashdot-esque system for comments here on DN.

    0 points
  • Surjith S MSurjith S M, over 9 years ago

    I can remember Karma points for Comments were existed on DN. They have intentionally removed that feature.

    0 points
  • Cihad TurhanCihad Turhan, over 9 years ago

    Next will be like, sell 100 karma points at $4.99 :)

    0 points
  • Account deleted over 9 years ago

    At one point they said it was coming... that was like a year ago. Honestly, it doesn't do much of anything aside from earning you colors... but it is a bit crazy how you can have a comment up voted 50+ times and still not earn even 1 karma point. If it were up to me - and it isn't - I'd probably just let admins/mods add a karma point to a poster whenever they see a response that's significant/helpful.

    0 points
  • Lete PaceyLete Pacey, over 9 years ago

    I just assumed this was the way it worked, but then I haven't been paying attention...

    0 points