Hark! Coding!
i have to agree karma on previous forums have lead to group of people picking on someone by each clicking - karma then that person being hated by the community as they think "hmmm i wonder why that is better not talk to that person" attitude but on the plus side it shows people who is generally helpfull and in somecases who are the popular people in the community thus leading to i want to be like them and them helping people to so yeah
I barely even notice Karma on this site- or any other, for that matter. I don't really see the problem with it. But, if people are getting offended, they can simply turn it off ^^ You just have to do a little sleuthing to find it