Why can't users earn points by commenting?

Question

The bonus system to collect "points" by asking/answering/voting should motivate users to be active - and reward them. I like this very much!

Why not also give points for commenting? Even in this way a user shows activity, brings new ideas.

Shouldn't this be rewarded also by extra points?

Comments

I'd like to second the idea of a commenting reward option ( admin config)

I do also agree with remarks about need to police content via down votes.. especially in large communities.. vital for quality of contributions !

but for some smaller, more intimate  professional communities .. especially where
identities are known.. I have always imagined that points for commenting could be a good incentive that encourages dialog..  and the upside is..  it avoids people using answers for minor comments just to get points..

or maybe my interest in this feature is based on the fact I like to comment a lot :)

Answer 1

It's a good question. The basic reason is that comments can't have votes, so it would be easy for people to get lots of points by posting lots of really bad comments, and there's no way for the community to negate those points by voting the comments down, like they can do for bad questions or answers.

I realize that moderators can hide bad comments, but one of the benefits of a reputation-driven Q&A site is that very little moderation is required.

Anyway, if this is something that lots of people want, it's easy to add in a future version.

Comments

Now is good!

Answer 2

In theory, anytime a comment is good enough to be worth receiving points for, it should be posted as an answer instead.