Just like Reddit, PieFed keeps track of how many upvotes and downvotes your posts receive and the net value of all the votes received is called your “reputation” (Reddit calls it “karma”). This is not shown in the UI anywhere (except to administrators), to dissuade the karma-farming behavior common on Reddit. Reputation is not a game or status symbol, it is a mechanic for enhancing trust and safety on PieFed.
Some people have criticized PieFed for this, calling it a “social credit system” similar to the one in China so I thought it’d be good to explain exactly what it does so people don’t need to guess or rely on hearsay.
I’ve mentioned this before in other context, but I feel like there’s value in potentially looking at who upvotes who, and following that graph.
If you have like a closed circle all upvoting each other, but everyone outside the circle downvotes, that might be useful information.
… as part of an anti-bot add-on which would presumably also consider things like IP address and posting times
I think it would be helpful for more than just bots. Right now every upvote is equal, but I probably personally value the upvotes of people I like more. You might see a 5 star review online, but if four of your friends all say it sucks that counts for more.
Maybe activity would also be an authenticity indicator. For example, I’ve noticed that some threads will get consistent votes from accounts that have been inactive for months or even years.