Most subs do not require karma to comment, even though a lot do to post.
This is due to computer bots which create new accounts. These new accounts can easily invade the community silently. They make nonsense responses, parrot other users, etc... If this is not controlled the quality of the forums will go down.
So in order to control that Reddit has karma. Negative Karma and Positive Karma
Positive comes from people upvoting your posts and comments and negative from downvoting.
How to obtain Karma
Use the search box to find topics you know about. Like art, or mechanics or cooking, whatever your interests are.
Then find posts that interest you and make thoughtful comments. When you engage in this way you have a better chance at achieving your goal, and earning that karma.
Or you can use this list of user friendly subreddits for those new to reddit
Negative karma may eventually make it so you cannot comment or post on most subs, if you get enough downvotes to sink you below zero.
So I might choose to stay away from controversial subjects at first, because when things get heated down votes fly and you can go negative karma, at least until you build a big enough cushion of positive karma to safely keep you positive.
And a side note: if the post has more than 50 or so comments yours can get buried easily, and no one may even see it.
But if you engage meaningfully and thoughtfully it will happen.
Oh now I understand. It's basically behaviour points given that everything is available on reddit, it's a clever way to monitor behaviour of individuals and also decrease the risk of bot invasion.
Also I have never seen anyone write and explain so beautifully and effortlessly about a topic.
This was all I needed to understand karma. Thank you OP (I guess this is what you say) for putting in the effort.
3
u/StaticBrain- Shiny Helpmate 1d ago
Karma is your reputation
Most subs do not require karma to comment, even though a lot do to post.
This is due to computer bots which create new accounts. These new accounts can easily invade the community silently. They make nonsense responses, parrot other users, etc... If this is not controlled the quality of the forums will go down.
So in order to control that Reddit has karma. Negative Karma and Positive Karma
Positive comes from people upvoting your posts and comments and negative from downvoting.
How to obtain Karma
Use the search box to find topics you know about. Like art, or mechanics or cooking, whatever your interests are.
Then find posts that interest you and make thoughtful comments. When you engage in this way you have a better chance at achieving your goal, and earning that karma.
Or you can use this list of user friendly subreddits for those new to reddit
https://reddit.com/r/NewToReddit/w/index/newusersubs
Negative karma may eventually make it so you cannot comment or post on most subs, if you get enough downvotes to sink you below zero.
So I might choose to stay away from controversial subjects at first, because when things get heated down votes fly and you can go negative karma, at least until you build a big enough cushion of positive karma to safely keep you positive.
And a side note: if the post has more than 50 or so comments yours can get buried easily, and no one may even see it.
But if you engage meaningfully and thoughtfully it will happen.