But.. I wasn't talking about ranking here. I'm aware that flagging a comment probably pushes it further down the thread, but as far as I know, it has no impact on karma, right?
No, not as as far as I know. The reason I was talking about ranking is because that is the only real outcome of karma.
Obviously karma is publicly displayed, but posting just for the dopamine buzz of numbers ticking up should surely be discouraged. That's what WoW is for. Or even better, the gym :)
