How is Reddit karma calculated?
If you’ve recently started using Reddit, you may have noticed that the more you post on subreddits or comment on other posts, the more your “Karma” increases. But how is it calculated?
Since its founding in San Francisco in 2005, Reddit has established itself as one of the most enduring social networks accessible on the Internet today.
Despite the fact that they describe themselves as “the front page of the Internet”, it was an effective ruse to get millions of people to join – users who feared they would otherwise lose something that seemed so important.
Reddit is estimated to have around 430 million active users who read, post and comment in more than 100,000 distinct subreddits – with a growing number of new people creating an account daily.
If these individuals participate in subreddits in different ways, the more Karma they accumulate. However, there are very few active users who will have 0 karma until they are downvoted more frequently than downvoted.
There are some people who have been active for several years and have millions of karma, but how was this calculated?
How is Reddit karma calculated?
Reddit calculates Karma using a formula that it doesn’t provide in detail. The more upvotes a link or comment receives, the less Karma each upvote is worth. This implies that a remark with 15,000 upvotes does not always equate to 15,000 Karma comments.
We don’t really know how Karma is determined, but we do know that it is closely related to the number of upvotes and downvotes a post or comment receives.
The higher the number of upvotes a user receives on posts and comments, the greater the amount of karma that person will accumulate in the long term. If a person experiences a lot of negative criticism repeatedly, their karma will not improve significantly over time.
What is Reddit Karma used for?
Karma, which is often called “Internet Points” by individuals who don’t have many of them – in the same way that those who don’t win the League Cup call it the “Mickey Mouse Cup” – has actually some uses on the site.
Here are some of the uses of karma on Reddit:
- You are free to post and comment as often as you wish. Maybe you’ve noticed that when you first start on Reddit, you have to wait a few days before you can post again. What is the minimum amount of Karma I must publish at my leisure? Nobody knows for sure. This problem will disappear once you gain more Karma.
- You will be able to join “exclusive” subreddits. Qualifications for Subreddit Karma may differ between communities. Before you can join or post on certain subreddits, you must have a certain amount of Karma.
- Your opinion on even very specific topics simply carries a lot more weight. Usually, users get upvotes when other users agree with them or simply respect their point of view. Therefore, the more karma you have, the more credibility you also have.
How to get more karma on Reddit
Although the basics of collecting Karma are quite simple, many new drafters are eager to unlock the secret and learn how to earn it faster.
Building a reputation on Reddit, like any other community, comes down to producing great content. Unless you are in dire need of Karma, you should simply participate, contribute, and allow things to unfold naturally.
That being said, here are some of the things you can do to ensure your karma levels are always on the rise:
Discuss current events
There still seems to be a heated argument going on on Reddit. If you have something to say about the latest news, there’s probably already a thread where you can have your say.
The problem is that popular topics can be quite polarizing, meaning you’re almost as likely to earn bad Reddit Karma as you are to receive positive Reddit Karma when you post on them.
Usually you can just read the room and determine which side of the argument gets more upvotes than the other.
Another effective method is to monitor growing posts in popular subreddits and pounce on those that have a good potential to be upvoted as soon as they are posted. Due to the proximity to the top of the post, if the post becomes famous, your remark will gain popularity with it. However, just because it’s the first doesn’t mean it will get more votes in the future.
Insightful and well-thought-out explanations and arguments, as well as amusing comments, are often excellent candidates for an upvote.
A comment that receives hundreds or even thousands of upvotes often simply expresses a sentiment that a large number of people can relate to, causing the comment to gain momentum.
Participate in popular subreddits
The more active users there are in a subreddit, the more upvote potential your posts and comments have. Posts in some of the most popular subreddits garner tens of thousands of upvotes, which can mean your karma increases by the thousands.
Here are some of the most popular current subreddits on the platform:
- r/announcements – official announcements from Reddit themselves.
- r/funny – claims to be Reddit’s largest repository of humor.
- r/askreddit – ask questions of all kinds that millions of people are waiting to answer.
- r/todayilearned – share information you just learned that other users may not know.
- r/aww – cute photos of animals and babies.
- r/showerthoughts – share the revelations that come to you while you take a shower.
Jake McEvoy
Jake is a professional writer, journalist, and lifelong tech fan. It covers KnowYourMobile news and user guides.
