To summarize: it is the sum of what you do and what you don't.

Now, to cut to the cheese: other board users can let your Karma increase by applauding you (thumbs up) or smite you (thumbs down). You can not manipulate your own Karma, actually, it's punished if you do... you go down 5 points for trying alone...
Even Adminstrators can not alter their own Karma!
A user can alter 1 user's Karma every 6 hours with either +1 or -1 point. A moderator or administrator can alter as many user's Karma by as many points they like.

The whole idea of the system is this:
You can have users that post little but their post are always very good. Some people post much, but they never get further than 'Yeah' or 'Me too'. The first will have a low post count, the second a high post count. Now, which of the two is more useful or credible?

The first! And other users can reward him/her with a larger Karma and the second with a low Karma (even a negative Karma is possible). That way, other or new users can see that the person posting valueable posts with a low post count and a high Karma is more trustworthy and valuable to your community than someone with a high post count but low Karma...

The second poster will have a higher ranking, because that's based on post count. Karma compensates/relavates this because a 'Junior Boarder' can have a huge Karma and a 'Platinum Boarder' a very low or negative Karma...

Hope this helps!

Post edited by: admin, at: 2005/08/06 18:45

You got some good karma for a great explanation. Now, if we could only filter the members who's karma drops so low that they're comments aren't even worth viewing...

It's a nice idea, I suppose. However, I'm a bit skeptical about whether it's really going to be used as it's intended to be. We'll see, I guess.

is there a way you can find out who decreases your karma ?

Not really, unless you are FTMPTB or me, then it was an "EX-member" of this site.

i thought if there not a member they cant do that same as reply