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Ernest

ers (Joel) wrote in
:

> The BA "beer karma" stat certainly encourages volume.

I think it's intended to encourage participation of all kinds; i.e., write
more reviews, articles, etc. and your "karma" goes up. But I would agree
that a lot of members take that value to heart, and let numbers get in the
way of quality. I also think, however, in time those members' intents are
quite obvious to others and the fast-trackers lose some of their overall
"cred". To say that RB or BA's lists and stats are intended to *encourage*
this kind of behavior is, IMHO, false. I think it's just a side
effect...the more opportunities people are given to exploit something, the
more they will tend to do so. You either give more power to the people and
live with the consequences, or you take away those powers.

But at the end of the day your opinions either carry some weight with
others, or they don't. The numbers beside your name have a lot less
importance (to members, at least) nowadays than they did in the early days
of each site. The numbers are still fun and all, don't get me wrong, but I
don't think they're perceived to be as meaningful as perhaps they once
were.

Cheers,
Ern