This right here.

I used to (a very, very, very long time ago) contribute on StackOverflow. How much? I haven't even logged in for over 7 years (and didn't contribute a good two years before that) and my account is still in the top 0.71% overall.

Let me tell you how I racked up that score.

I monitored the site in off-hours (easy to do with my time zone). I found new questions for the most popular programming language on the site (back then this being Java). I then did what the asker should have done: I Googled. I then wrote an answer (a correct answer: this is important) and got first-responder points.

And here's the funny thing: I don't program in Java. I hate the language. I know enough Java programming to be dangerous. VERY dangerous. But 18% of my points came from answering Java questions. A further 15% came from answering C++ questions which is at least a language I know ... but also despise and won't work with any longer.

This is how easy it is to game fantasy Internet points: whether "karma" or "gold" or whatever you like. And if you start providing these fantasy Internet points you're going to start attracting people for whom high numbers of them are important and they will do what I did to the detriment of the ecosystem. (I mean at least in my case my answers were right. Disingenuous that I of all people answered them, but at least correct. This is not the case for all points whores.)