[concealed]

The principal effect of karma here is not how it helps you judge your fit, but how it actively shapes the community/content. This effect was clearly visible on reddit as it was realized that the more sensational content was vastly more promoted in the reddit karma system.

So my question:

What is the value of high quality content ordering? Are the present ordering strategies on HN/reddit/[insert karma-based discovery site] good enough? Would the theoretically perfect ordering offer much more value than current systems?

[gaika]

Take a look at my startup, we're trying to push a different system for ranking stuff. I personally think there's a lot more value in it. But sometimes people prefer simple algorithms that are easier to understand, there's value in it too.

[dreish]

I like how you automatically assign a guest ID so visitors can try out the customization features right away, and think, "Hell, I'm halfway to joining -- might as well go the rest of the way now." The same thing could have been done invisibly with a cookie, but then the psychological hook wouldn't be there.

That's a very clever detail.

[kashif]

Hmmm..A better ordering system might improve things but I am not aware of any simple alternatives.

[Jesin]

We're only talking about ditching karma, the running total for each user. We would still be able to upvote/downvote stories and comments, but those votes would only effect the individual story or comment, not the user who posted it.