The fact that points on SO actually unlock admin and moderation features on the site gives them real value. I don't care at all about my Reddit karma, but if it meant I could eventually retitle misleading posts I would.
I think that's a place where Wikipedia presents a better model in a lot of ways. People love to complain about its cliquey admin groups, but the fact is they're extremely effective at getting quality content out there.
Bottom line, I think, is that forcing people to discuss (not just summarily up or downvote) is really important to getting meaningful content. It's fairly easy to see when someone is talking out of their ass, but it's much harder to get a read on how intelligent an anonymous (or even attributed) vote is.
Bottom line, I think, is that forcing people to discuss (not just summarily up or downvote) is really important to getting meaningful content. It's fairly easy to see when someone is talking out of their ass, but it's much harder to get a read on how intelligent an anonymous (or even attributed) vote is.