What does Karma really matter for? The only way to see it is to look at someones profile. I can't imagine the leaderboard is that big of a deal except to the person on it. And even then, I can imagine that it's not that big of a deal to those people.<p>If someone wants to become a HN power user, the key seems to be participation. Participate and people learn your handle, people learn your views and story, and sometimes you get to connect with similar people in real life. It's kind of neat.