I don't particularly care about my aggregate karma points. But I do spend significant time putting my truths down here, and it is rewarding to see some acknowledgement that someone found the effort interesting or worthy.
It feels silly but I wish there was some more visible broader advocacy for social network liking. There's plenty of big scary pathologies, ways to let oneself get trapped in obsessions over the number & watching or trying to make it go up. But just having some friends thumbs up a Facebook post or a HN comment is a small kindness, is a small act that breathes a little kindness into the network. Up voting is great, do it broadly is my recommendation.
What I genuinely appreciate about Hacker News is that its karma system feels different. It seems designed not to trigger dopamine loops or keep you mindlessly scrolling, but to reward thoughtful contributions and help maintain the quality of discussions. The absence of advertising is proof enough that HN isn’t trying to trap you in “doomscroll mode.” Karma here feels more like a sign that you’re contributing to something meaningful, a community that values ideas over spectacle and cute puppies.
That said, I try not to lose sleep over karma either. If I can spark an engaging, authentic conversation but my points don’t climb, that’s fine. For me, the real reward is in the exchange of ideas and more often than not, you get to walk away with a golden nugget of insight this platform is known for.
On other social media, I’ve only recently dipped my toes, mainly to promote my writing. To be honest, I find the chase for likes draining and often inauthentic. That is why I'm failing at building followers. But unfortunately, like it or not, that’s the vehicle for visibility these days.
To sum it up: I respect the way karma works on HN and see it as a helpful part of the experience, not the point of the experience. As for the other platforms, I use them as tools, nothing more.
My 2 cents. Thanks for asking.
Upvotes are certainly better than the deluge of "I [like|agree with|repeat] this" drivel that some online forums seem optimized for. While still giving some indications of which responses are more or less popular on HN. But without (that I've noticed) attracting too many karma-farming or karma-grinding users.
Bigger picture - we can talk up the virtues of HN's karma system, or of Dang & Co., or of Paul & Co....but in the end, 95% of the credit for the quality of information and discussions here belongs to the "critical mass" community of good, regular users.
The numeric year of 2030, is a far more important number than any number of karma points on this site.
I see that year as a serious deadline.