Plurk Karma
A while back, Gwen Sutton (known to many Plurkers as Mama Sutton) asked me if I thought Plurk was fading.
I said I’d write a blog post about it, and then never got the post finished.
This morning, after participating in separate conversations started by BarabaraKB and ethnicomm about the same thing, I’m finally sitting down to write the promised post. Sorry it took me so long, Gwen!
In order to write about this, today I’ll start by discussing the elephant in the living room, Plurk Karma.
Let me say first, that there are some aspects of karma that I like.
I like the fact that you have to participate to raise Karma.
I like how karma keeps many of the broadcasters away from Plurk.
I like how karma helps keep spam low.
That said, there are also things that I don’t like about it.
Once I’ve shown that I know how to participate and be friendly, I don’t need karma anymore.
Karma drops if you don’t plurk for a while, even if you respond to others. That is probably my least favorite thing about it.
Because Karma drops for things other than spamming, it is not a good indicator of whether you should follow someone. So outside of a personal number, Karma has no clear value.
Here are my suggestions on how Karma could be improved:
1) End it at 50. Once you’ve reached 50 karma, you’ve shown that you know how to participate.
2) Don’t drop karma from non-participation. There are many reasons for having to be away from Plurk for a while. I know of people who’ve gone overseas on vacation and didn’t have internet access, people who lost power (especially during the hurricanes), and friends who have been in the hospital, unable to Plurk. Losing karma over something like that is ridiculous.
3) Once you’ve reached 50, karma shouldn’t drop for anything less than spamming. Karma could be a great way to keep spammers off of Plurk, it has the potential, but right now that potential is blotted out by all the other ways to lose karma.
So what do you think about Karma? Should the A-team keep it like it is, or could it be improved?
Comments
Comment from Roland Hesz
Time October 25, 2008 at 3:54 am
Let me quote the A-Team on Karma:
“We like it the way it is.”
I think that shows the chances of karma getting changed.
Comment from Teeg
Time October 25, 2008 at 10:18 am
@Roland I think the comment was in reference to getting rid of karma, if I’m remember right. I know they’ve changed how karma works a few times, including changing the time between plurks limit from 4-8 hours to 12 hours. I’ll admit, as much as I’d like to see karma end at 50, I doubt that will happen anytime soon, but the rest are things they might consider if enough people ask for them.
Comment from Teeg
Time October 25, 2008 at 10:26 am
says @ethnicomm It’s a lot better than it was, I think I’ve actually gone almost 24 hours without plurking without losing karma. Still, if someone has to be away, it would be nice knowing you haven’t lost anything when you come back.
Comment from Gerard
Time October 27, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I like the fact that you’ve got to participate, but the fact that your karma drops off if you’ve been absent for a day or so is a bugbear. Besides, there doesn’t seem to be much advantage to having higher karma - like better exposure on the site or whatever.
Still, I love Plurk so much better than Twitter, it’s got so much more character!
Gerards last blog post..Seth Godin on Marketing Shortcuts
Comment from Prisqua
Time October 30, 2008 at 12:51 am
I think up to 100 before they stop counting karma points especially since we don’t get any advantages of having high karma… if there was more incentives I could understand but it is not the case…
And yes we should not be penalised when we cant plurk… I was in a plane so i could not plurk… and lost .16 in one update when I can only gain .02 per update so it is a bit unfair in my opinion.
Prisquas last blog post..title will come later
Comment from Web-Betty
Time November 14, 2008 at 9:55 am
I hate that karma is so mysterious. There is no clear-cut methodology (at least none that I can find). When I logged on to Plurk this morning, it shows my karma had dropped .75, but I’ve been plurking, responding, and being an overall good community participator. 
I had even added a new friend.
20 minutes later, it shows my karma went up a bit (.21 I think), but obviously not enough to offset the negative karma. This kind of pissed me off! I can only assume my karma went down due to my activity last night. I was having good conversations, but since I definitely went over the “30 per day”, I was penalized. This doesn’t make any sense to me.
and Download!
Comment from ethnicomm
Time October 24, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I completely agree with you. There should not be any anxiety when you’re unable to Plurk for a while. As I approach Nirvana, I’m actually thinking about how it has ceased to be a benchmark or motivator for me - in fact, it is quit annoying now. I don’t need Karma to influence my behavior.