Comment by Rjng on Well-Kept Gardens Die By Pacifism · 2023-01-19T15:41:42.441Z · LW · GW

In my opinion, if handled improperly (E.g. Reddit) up/down vote system enable predatory herd dynamics since the accumulation of karma points trigger a competition between members and an excessive sense of self-worth.

When you don't have a specific karma count for every single community you are in, what can happen is people starting acting on purpose to get karma (that is also dopamine), adapting their behaviour to the general trend of every community they join, for the mere sake of acquiring what is perceived as "credibility" and "respect".

Gaining karma throwing toxic, very low-effort, provocative comments becomes the praxis, and it's very effective since people always struggle to prove their superiority, be it charismatic or intellectual.
People also tends to validate who keeps the game on the same field they feel confident, leaving little to no room for a real, healthy exchange of different perspectives.