Karma is the basis on which the users’ reputation and goodwill are determined in the Reddit community. It is intrinsic to posts and comments on the website, and any users who take a peek at your profile will instantly know how “good” you are. Keeping tabs on every user invites people to make up stories, embellish feats, or impersonate people to “farm karma”. However, the intent, competing to be recognized by the community for good deeds, is undeniably beneficial. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean much if your score goes down considerably or, even worse, to zero or negative value. Thankfully, we’re here to analyze how to recover Reddit karma.
Reddit Karma: A quick overview
Karma on Reddit is a scoring system that is far more complex than you might think. You see, you get karma every time your posts or comments get upvoted by others. Likewise, your karma decreases and eventually goes into negative numbers if your comments or posts get downvoted. There are two separate scores, for link karma and comment karma. Sadly, that’s where the simplicity ends. Reddit uses an algorithm to transfer the number of upvotes into a karma score that is hidden for obvious reasons.
A lot of factors play into this, and significant growth in upvotes does not necessarily mean karma will rise to the same level. Additionally, Reddit, since its inception, stated they never show a precise number to throw off spambots and paid/fake upvotes from reaching a certain goal. While that makes it hard to conclude how to reach a high karma score in the first place, that should only concern you if you plan to use the first method. If your problem is akin to that in method two, you will get your old karma back in a jiffy with little effort on your part. Let’s press on.
Can I recover my karma on Reddit?
Yes, you can recover your Reddit karma, but it’s going to take effort and time. That doesn’t apply in the case we mention below, where you can restore your Karma score instantly, though only under special conditions. With that said, here are several pointers to recover karma on Reddit to your old score and further:
1. Consider deleting your account (New users only)
How recently have you joined? If the post that led you to attain negative karma was one of your first, you might let the account go and start from zero—literally. Though you won’t technically recover your old karma on Reddit, at least you reduced the workload required to reach the previous score.
2. Never ask or offer karma
Don’t worry, bots will remind you of this every step of the way. Even if you don’t get an outright notification, your account may be punished behind the scenes by the algorithm, which reflects on karma. Thus, don’t request or propose giving karma on Reddit.
3. Post and comment in free karma Subreddits
This goes against everything we said a moment ago. However, there are free karma Subreddits that won’t get you in trouble. They fall within Reddit’s rules because every user that joins is expected to upvote and get one in return. You still must respect other guidelines, as users will downvote poorly thought-out content nonetheless.
4. Become active (Duh.)
There’s no other way to the top but to work at it daily. While we can’t tell you what to post, we suggest you do two this:
- Write catchy titles. Since your post or comment will struggle to appear near the top (or at all), you need a way to draw attention.
- Leave questions open-ended. These claw at users’ urge to give a response, whether to give their take, correct or inform.
- Always respond. Make this a rule—respond to any posts or comments you find interesting, and reply to responses to yours. Keep the conversation going, as long as it makes sense and contributes somehow.
- Steer clear of controversial posts. You’ll inevitably get lots of replies, and some will side with you. However, is that the reaction you seek?
5. Keep note of posts or comments that do well
You know how they say, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. You should never partake in karma farming, i.e., spin content has had a lot of upvotes or pretend you’re someone else, however. The solution is to find something similar to content that does well, but is original to you or can be reformed in your style. Be original, but post or comment with a plan.
6. Research peak hours
Like any other platform, especially one global and with such a large user base, there are optimal hours to post content. The more people view your stuff, the higher the chance they’ll support you, agree with you, or reply so that others can see it. Some social media experts suggest the best time to post on Reddit is early morning on a Sunday in a large city in the United States.
7. Join large Subreddits
This goes hand in hand with the tip above. While you can undoubtedly draw attention in a niche Subreddit, you’ll recover Reddit karma at a slow pace. As far as sheer numbers go, it’s much better to captivate a smaller audience in a large Subreddit.
The only way to directly restore Reddit Karma
After a tirade of tips, we’ve gathered for an almost instant solution. The problem of having zero or unreasonably low karma is more frequent than you might think. The resolution lies in the Reddit algorithm we already mentioned and should sort itself out without any actions on your part. Give it time and clear your browser cache to be notified promptly.
However, in some cases, an actual bug in the code is the culprit. If so, pushing a bug fix may prevent it from affecting new users and/or comments and posts. However, old posts and comments, yours included, may continue to suffer the same fate. The solution is to post or comment (as it tends to impact many users at once) on the Reddit Help Subreddit. You’ll get help or confirmation from Redditors and draw the attention of Administrators. If that doesn’t produce results, describe your issue on the Reddit Bugs Subreddit.
