How Reddit Karma Works – What We Know
If you’re new to Reddit, you’ve probably noticed that the more you post on subreddits and comment on other people’s posts, the more your “karma” increases. But how is it determined and what is it used for?
Reddit has established itself as one of the the most sustainable social media platforms available since its founding in San Francisco in 2005. It essentially developed alongside memes.
Even though they call themselves “the front page of the Internet,” it was a great ploy to get millions of people to create accounts – people who were afraid of missing out on something. something so essential.
Reddit is estimated to have around 430 million active users who browse, post, and interact across over 100,000 different subreddits, with newcomers regularly creating accounts.
The more these people contribute to subreddits in various ways, the more Karma they accumulate. However, only a small percentage of active users will have no karma until they are disadvantaged more often than favorable.
But how exactly does Reddit karma work? How is it calculated and what can it be used for?
How does Reddit Karma work?
Karma is determined by Reddit using a system it doesn’t disclose. Each upvote is supposed to be worth less Karma, the more upvotes a link or comment receives. This means, for example, that a comment with 5,000 upvotes does not automatically imply 5,000 Karma.
We don’t know how Karma is calculated, but we do know that it is related to the number of upvotes and downvotes user posts and comments get.
The more upvotes a person gets on posts and comments, the more karma that user will gain in the long run. A person’s karma will not increase significantly over time if they are continually heavily criticized, which is in fact regularly observed.
What can Reddit Karma be used for?
Karma, commonly referred to as “Internet Points” by those who don’t have many of them, has certain purposes on the site.
For starters, the more karma you have, the more freedom you have, and so you are free to post articles and comment on others as often as you like. When you were new to Reddit, you may have noticed that you had to wait a bit before you could post again in particular places.
We have no idea what the limit is in terms of the amount of karma you need to achieve more freedom, but we do know that it directly correlates to an increase in the amount of karma.
Another obvious benefit of having higher karma amounts is the ability to post and comment in more exclusive subreddits. A good example is r/memes, where users can’t post until they have 1,000 karma. 1k karma doesn’t take too long to get, but it prevents users from creating new accounts and spamming a very popular sub.
Overall, your comments and opinions tend to be respected a little more when you have more karma. This may not be an obvious benefit, as there’s always someone happy to chat with you, but overall, people will back off if it seems like you’re right a lot.
How can I get more karma on Reddit?
Although the fundamentals of collecting Karma are simple, many new Redditors are eager to crack the code and figure out how to get it faster.
Producing quality material is key to establishing a reputation on Reddit, as in any other community. You should just join, contribute, and let things evolve organically, unless you urgently need Karma.
With that in mind, here are some steps you can take to keep your karma levels high at all times:
1. Get Involved with Popular Subreddits
The more people active in a subreddit, the more likely your posts and comments are to be upvoted. Posts in some of the most popular subreddits can get tens of thousands of upvotes, meaning your karma can skyrocket.
r/memes, r/aww, r/funny (rarely really funny), r/todayilearned, r/askreddit and r/AITA are some of the most popular Reddit subscriptions you can join, however, you may not be able to post in these until you have a particular amount of karma.
2. Sort messages by “rising”
Another useful strategy is to monitor the increase in posts in popular subreddits and jump on those that have a high chance of being upvoted as soon as they are posted. Due to its proximity to the top of the post, if the post becomes popular, your comment will become popular too. However, even if it is the first, it does not mean that it will get more votes in the future.
Funny remarks, as well as insightful and well-thought-out explanations and arguments, are often excellent candidates for an upvote.
A remark with hundreds or even thousands of upvotes often simply communicates a sentiment that a large number of people can relate to, allowing the comment to gain traction.
3. Discuss current events
If you are aware of the politics, you will find karma farming particularly easy. Just be friendly about it.
On Reddit, there seems to be constant heated debate. 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 divisive, so you’re almost as likely to get negative Reddit Karma as you are to get good Reddit Karma when you post on them.
Usually, all you have to do is scan the room and see which side of the debate receives more upvotes than the other.
4. Don’t double down
If the collective mind of Reddit has decided it doesn’t like your first comment in a debate, don’t try to explain yourself further. They have made up their minds and will continue to downvote your comments whether you are right or not.
Occasionally, you may be able to convince them of your point of view, but you’ll still do well to break even on your karma. People don’t like to admit they’re wrong.
Additionally, it is of course possible that you are wrong, which will make doubling your point even more detrimental to your karma.
Jake McEvoy
Jake is a professional writer, journalist, and lifelong tech fan. It covers KnowYourMobile news and user guides.
