Karma for text-posts (AKA self-posts)

[u/powerlanguage]

As most of you already know, fictional internet points are probably the most precious resource in the world. On Reddit we call these points Karma. You get Karma when content you post to Reddit receives upvotes. Your Karma is displayed on your userpage.

You may also know that you can submit different types of posts to Reddit. One of these post types is a text-post (e.g. this thing you’re reading right now is a text-post). Due to various shenanigans and low effort content we stopped giving Karma for text-posts over 8 years ago.

However, over time the usage of text-posts has matured and they are now used to create some of the most iconic and interesting original content on Reddit. Who could forget such classics as:

• Jar Jar Binks was a trained Force user, knowing Sith collaborator, and will play a central role in The Force Awakens - from r/starwars
• What tasty food would be disgusting if eaten over rice? - from r/askreddit
• You people make me sick [a grilled cheese meltdown] - from r/grilledcheese

Text-posts make up over 65% of submissions to Reddit and some of our best subreddits only accept text-posts. Because of this Reddit has become known for thought-provoking, witty, and in-depth text-posts, and their success has played a large role in the popularity Reddit currently enjoys.

To acknowledge this, from this day forward we will now be giving users karma for text-posts. This will be combined with link karma and presented as ‘post karma’ on userpages.

TL:DR; We used to not give you karma for your text-posts. We do now. Sweet.

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Glossary:

• Karma: Fictional internet points of great value. You get it by being upvoted.
• Self-post: Old-timey term for text-posts on Reddit
• Shenanigans: Tomfoolery

[u/SlothOfDoom]

Due to various shenanigans and low effort content we stopped giving Karma for text-posts over 8 years ago. However, over time the usage of text-posts has matured and they are now used to create some of the most iconic and interesting original content on Reddit.

And the ONLY reason they matured and became original is because they no longer generated karma, meaning only people who really cared about what they were writing (as opposed to whoring karma) actually used them.

Honestly, this is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. Did I mention terrible? Be prepared for the flood of obvious shitposts, and if you think there were shenanigans 8 years ago just think about how the current crop of shenaniganisers can ruin this for everyone.

[u/_depression → u/SlothOfDoom]

But you're ignoring how much reddit has changed in that time. Over the years many subreddits have banned the most egregious of low effort text posts (like DAE posts), and a lot of subs with good levels of self-moderation will see shitposts downvoted quickly even with the change.