

I only have a HackerNews cred of (10), does it make a difference to have more? - flavmartins

I&#x27;ve submitted a few links and comments on HackerNews but like more users, I don&#x27;t ever make it to the front page. Actually, most of my stuff usually gets 2, maybe 3, total ^ on HN.<p>So, here&#x27;s my question. Does it really matter? Is my (10) cred number with HackerNews just a vanity metric or does HackerNews actually improve my experience or sharing ability as I get a higher cred number?<p>Thoughts?
======
anigbrowl
You get some secret powers like flagging, downvoting, and the ability to
initiate polls. But mainly it's a vanity metric.

By the way I had the exact same experience, and most submissions I make die
with 1 or 2 points even after several years. Then other times I'll get
hundreds of points for some whimsical thing that I didn't think was important
at all. I rarely pay attention to people's karma scores unless I think they're
whoring for points, like persistently making 'me too' posts on popular issues
or posting every single thing from a popular blog.

Just post what you think is interesting, think your opinions through before
expressing them, don't be afraid to say that you were wrong or have changed
your mind even if you feel momentarily foolish. Same as life really.

------
NoodleIncident
Some moderator-type abilities are tied to your points. I have 50-60ish credit,
so I can flag posts, but I can't downvote anything.

That's all from comments, if it matters, I don't post. I don't think HN keeps
track of the two separately, though.

~~~
flavmartins
What sort of flagging abilities do you have?

------
sp332
At a certain level (500 I think) you can downvote comments. No one can
downvote submissions though. There is some evidence that your score affects
how quickly your comments "sink" on a discussion page, but they never
disappear or anything.

~~~
flavmartins
Super interesting. I wonder if we could get a 500-er to confirm this?

~~~
kaybe
Yes, the level is 500. I don't know about the "sinking" though since I don't
comment a lot and those are mostly answers to older comments.

------
1123581321
After a few hundred points you can change the color of the orange bar at the
top. I really like this. Mine is set to F6F6EF, the same as the tan background
behind all the content.

Flagging powers are also a nice thing to have if you spend any time at all in
New.

~~~
pizza
Hey, I do that too! It's an easy way of telling if I'm logged in.

------
lsiebert
link submissions net a lot more points them comments, and for a lot less
investment. I wish I could have the option only look at points people got for
comments, or to split the two, or to show a ratio.

