Under the assumption that being rewarded with karma can motivate someone to make a donation, but if they make a donation, they do not respond to karma as an incentive when deciding how much to donate, then upvoting any donation is the best policy for maximizing money to SI. I’m not sure how realistic that model is, but it seems intuitive to me.
Under the assumption that being rewarded with karma can motivate someone to make a donation, but if they make a donation, they do not respond to karma as an incentive when deciding how much to donate, then upvoting any donation is the best policy for maximizing money to SI. I’m not sure how realistic that model is, but it seems intuitive to me.
It might motivate someone to donate $20 rather than $5 if there is a karma difference; probably not $20000 rather than $20, though.