It's definitely different strokes for different folks on this one, but as long as the goal is noble, I think it's fine for people who get off on metrics to use them. Not all people are motivated that way.. (luckily!)
Years ago, I had a goal of getting on the now-hidden /leaders page on HN so worked hard at writing good comments, submitting good links, etc, every single day and I made it. Did I add value to the site? Yes. Did the borderline-useless ego boost keep me contributing? Sure.
I contribute a lot less now that /leaders has been hidden and since getting above top 20 is crazy hard, but HN is now so busy plenty of people are picking up the slack, whereas early on, I have to wonder if the leaders page did help artificially boost engagement.
Comments
It's definitely different strokes for different folks on this one, but as long as the goal is noble, I think it's fine for people who get off on metrics to use them. Not all people are motivated that way.. (luckily!)
Years ago, I had a goal of getting on the now-hidden /leaders page on HN so worked hard at writing good comments, submitting good links, etc, every single day and I made it. Did I add value to the site? Yes. Did the borderline-useless ego boost keep me contributing? Sure.
I contribute a lot less now that /leaders has been hidden and since getting above top 20 is crazy hard, but HN is now so busy plenty of people are picking up the slack, whereas early on, I have to wonder if the leaders page did help artificially boost engagement.