Notes for future OT posters:
1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.
2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)
3. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.
4. Unflag the two options "Notify me of new top level comments on this article" and "
How is this different from the karma system?
Karma is not granting social status, it is community moderation of discussion. Imagine if the aggregate karma numbers were removed from display (arguably this is maybe something that should be done).