This is a really noob question...

[Unilsrewtu]

...What is karma?

[Kyle Kepone]

Basically points people give you for being a nice individual. The idea is that you'll give them points in return, kind of like Pay it Forward. For instance, I just gave you some points by pressing applaud.

[Unilsrewtu]

Basically points people give you for being a nice individual. The idea is that you'll give them points in return, kind of like Pay it Forward. For instance, I just gave you some points by pressing applaud.

Okay, thanks. And how do you give karma?

[Dreamlight]

Click on 'applaud' under a person's karma score.  Newbies don't have access to this, so you might not see it.  You will be able to applaud (or smite, if you find the post disagreeable) eventually, though.

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

I think it becomes activated after you make 25 posts.

[C'tri Atan'itan]

there are also restrictions to prevent people spamming up someone's karma,
If I remember correctly you can't bump the same person's Karma up more than once every 5(ish) applauds.

Just think of it as another way of seeing how well thought of a person is in the community; high post counts = active members, high karma = well respected members.