IIUC these reputation systems are based on user votes.
LessWrong karma is usually also generated that way, at least until now. But if MIRI starts to sell LessWrong karma in exchange of work, then what's the point of having a karma system? What does 'karma' represent?
What did it represent until now?
If your answer is "user votes," as your comment suggests, then I guess what it represents now is "a combination of user votes and MIRI work." Is the latter less valuable a thing to represent than the former?
MIRI is gathering a bunch of Eliezer’s writings into a nicely-edited ebook, currently titled The Hard Part is Actually Changing Your Mind. This book will ultimately be released in various digital formats (Kindle MOBI, EPUB, and PDF). Much of the initial work for this project is complete. What we need now are volunteers to review the book's chapters to:
This project has been added to Youtopia, MIRI’s volunteer system. (Click “Register as a Volunteer” here to sign up. Already signed up? Go here.)
LW Karma Bonus
For this special project, every point earned in Youtopia will also earn you 3 karma on LW!
Points are awarded based on the amount of time spent proofreading the book. For example, an hour of work logged in Youtopia earns you 10 points, which will also get you 30 LW karma. Karma is awarded by admins in a publicly-accountable way: all manual karma additions are listed here.
Questions about this project can be directed to alexv@intelligence.org or in the comments.