Can we have karma in AskMe?

May 13, 2004 10:56 AM

Ask MeFi Karma - I think it would be cool that if you are reading the comments of an AskMeFi thread that you created, you could rate an answer by granting or taking away a karma point from the answerer. In this way, there will be a new mechanism of MeFi elitism to encourage constructive replies.
posted by plinth to Feature Requests at 10:56 AM (20 comments total)

And this karma would...? Be redeemable for fantastic MetaFilter merchandise?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:59 AM on May 13, 2004

Karma reeks of slashcode, and is bound to result in the same kinds of negatives.

I suggested my somewhat related AskMe pony previously:
1. Allow the poster of the thread to tag the thread as "answered" and optionally tag a particular post as "the answer".

2. Then create a AskMe sidebar with "recently answered questions".

Because that's the only real problem I see with AskMe right now.
posted by malphigian at 11:03 AM on May 13, 2004

500 karma points: Baseball cap with iron-on likeness of mathowie.

800 karma points: Beer Cozy with likeness of mathowie.

1,000 karma points: the mathowie mini-cooler.

20,000 karma points: leather bomber jacket with mathowie's likeness embroidered in gold thread across back.
posted by scarabic at 11:06 AM on May 13, 2004

Dear Lord, please no karma points. People just get far too concerned about their karma to the detriment of pretty much everything else -- they might refrain from posting something they're unsure about, for example, so as not to lose karma.
posted by reklaw at 11:11 AM on May 13, 2004

No.

The issues of karma usage have been debated for ages.

Matt thinks it rots your teeth. So do many of the other MeFiFolk.
I'm content enough with regular ponies, though a CounterStrike server
would be nice. (kidding!)
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:11 AM on May 13, 2004

[scarabic gets 25 karma points]
posted by amandaudoff at 11:12 AM on May 13, 2004

25 karma points: bumper sticker with I ANSWERED METAFILTER written in ugly text.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:20 AM on May 13, 2004

Please don't feed the Rutiglianos.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:22 AM on May 13, 2004

I think instead of karma, we should use eucharists, every point gets you a little white host next to your name.

What? It's wrong to use religious symbology in a flippant way? Ok, let's stick with karma then.
posted by Capn at 11:24 AM on May 13, 2004

As a Plastic karma whore, my recommendation on AskMe karma is:

FUCK NO!!!

... not that I expect my opinion to carry any weight around here. ;-P
posted by mischief at 11:29 AM on May 13, 2004

I don't see why the person who asked the question should have any official power over the thread after they asked the question. After all, they're the one who is by definition admitting ignorance on the subject. You can express your satisfaction, or lack thereof, with the way the thread is going, but the answers are not just for you anyway. And one answer that you think is the right one may not be nearly as good as another one coming.

Then again, that one guy did explicitly say "Not Iooking for shaving tips," and then a bunch of people gave him shaving tips anyway, which was lame.
posted by bingo at 11:53 AM on May 13, 2004

No.

Often, I read askmefi threads asked by other posters and find buried in threads answers to personal questions I have.

Closing threads, or rewarding the "correct answer" would damage that.

Having said that, I'd just like to add that I found a job because of a link in someone else's askmefi post... So thanks!
posted by drezdn at 1:17 PM on May 13, 2004

here's an idea.

the person who asked the question can make a comment in the thread saying which suggestions were helpful and maybe thanking the people that made that suggestion.

how bout that?
posted by Miles Long at 1:18 PM on May 13, 2004

1,000,000 karma points: pony
posted by biffa at 1:30 PM on May 13, 2004

A pony with mathowie's likeness branded on it?

OK, thanks for the thoughtful replies. It occurred to me after I spent half an hour putting thought into an askmefi reply
posted by plinth at 2:28 PM on May 13, 2004

1,000,000 karma points: pony

Then mathowie shoots it and you start over from zero.
posted by timeistight at 3:53 PM on May 13, 2004

If there were to be any kind of ranking going on, the simpler the better. I wouldn't mind it if the people who asked the question in the first place would be permitted to choose one response from the thread as "best answer" or "worst answer." One or the other, never both at in a thread, and of course they could opt not to pick either. The selected response is marked in the thread in some way, and the person who gave the best answer gets a gold star next to his name next to all his posts, which he gets to keep until (1) some period of time goes by, say a week, or (2) another question-poster votes him "worst answer," if that happens before the time is up.

Simple, doesn't provide a score for people to run up and compete over, and rewards ongoing effort by making the reward time-limited.
posted by kindall at 3:54 PM on May 13, 2004

i have "excellent" karma on slashdot. nuff said.
posted by quonsar at 5:10 PM on May 13, 2004

Please don't feed the Rutiglianos.

Comedy deuterium!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:24 PM on May 13, 2004

I think the initial thrust of this thread was the addition of 'answered' status to AskMe questions. Naturally, of course, the thread traversed into the well-trod territory of karma and moderation, but I think the initial idea is good.

The idea of askme, as I understand it, is entirely different from that of mefi or meta or any other link-and-reply site like plastic or slashdot, and this difference may provide a better environment for this kind of system. The idea is to pose a question, and have experts in the area post answers, in the hopes of building a knowledgebase created by and for the community. An existence proof of distributed intelligence, if you will. Indeed, matt has discouraged any posts to askme that are anything but answers or paths to answers.

So allowing the asker to alot a 'this is the answer' tag to the most helpful post(s) I think would be a good idea, and would certainly make the whole project more useful, as searches of questions could immediately display the most helpful answers. And it would be entirely in line with the self-policing philosophy of the site, as only the poster, who has the opprotunity to actually try and confirm potential solutions, may award such status. Also, it would provide a mechanism for closing threads, which is probably also a welcome addition. So, um, I concur.
posted by ChasFile at 12:20 AM on May 14, 2004