First, I'd like to comment in -general on the topic, and then make a suggestion or two. I suspect there are various aspects/issues surrounding this topic, and possibly various interpretations as well. Regardless of the website, there are people who are very private and want to remain that way. There are gradations of this from both extremes, and all-in-between. There are those who prefer as much privacy as possible, then may open-up over time as the site/users/administrators/etc gain their trust. Then there are those who aren't concerned about privacy at all. I wouldn't want to judge anyone on any of these extremes, as we all have our own reasons and experiences that push/pull us toward/away from privacy online. I've thought about 'privacy' on this site recently, and how a user/person may want to provide Karma but want to remain anonymous (for whatever personal reasons they may be). I wonder if it would be a good idea for CuddleComfort to allow an option for a Karma-giver to remain anonymous (ie: checkbox during the Karma entry), yet still allow the display of the rating and comments, so that others can see the feedback/comments/karma, yet remain private of who exactly provided the comment to the rest of the user base. Obviously, CC admins would know who provided the Karma (internally). Secondarily, maybe(?) they allow the recipient of the karma to see who provided it, but it remain anonymous to others (if the option were chosen by the karma-giver). These are just a few thoughts/suggestions on the topic. I'm not siding strongly on either side. I respect both positions, which is why I suggest these as possible solutions. Just my $0.02, since I haven't been on this site as long as most of you, and I haven't been posting comments on these forums much either.
I like getting karma because it shows to potential clients that I am serious about cuddling and being a pro. I know some profiles are there but don't cuddle or reply to messages and have no karma so I don't want to give that vibe that I am not going to be approachable.
I have also met some that don't like getting or leaving karma so each his own. I like seeing karma though since to me it will make the first in person session not feel so bad.
I think karma will always be important.
I use it for safety, it shows my professionalism, and I have had to leave bad karma to those who were a no-show.
Whether it’s there for me to contact a person who has left them karma and I can get a better understanding of who this person is, or for a cuddler wanting a session seeing all of my karma and possibly even seeing more ideas for positions or how to spend time together or to warn others about a time waster or someone who is inappropriate, karma is always important. At least, to me it is.