Negative Karma and Virtual Mafia

Habré, like many other sites, has a karma system, which is a numerical indicator of the user's “reputation”. But reputation experts warn that a public demonstration of negative karma can lead to unpleasant side effects.

The fact is that when a karma goes into the negative zone, the user has no sense in maintaining activity under the same account if it is easier for him to register a new one, that is, go through the so-called “karma bankruptcy” procedure. This is clearly seen in the example of eBay, where almost all accounts with three negative reviews are no longer active. Sellers simply open new accounts.

As an example of the blatant disgrace to which the public demonstration of negative karma leads, experts cite the example of the game Sims Online, where without good karma the player could not even rent a room to live. There, in 2004, a real mafia appeared, which blackmailed all new users of the game with zero karma. Representatives of the Sims Mafia grouping demanded virtual currency from newbies, otherwise they threatened to lower their karma into a minus from which it would be almost impossible to get out.