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The 50 Clap Conundrum
This Post May Offend Some People
A lot has been written about the etiquette, on Medium, of giving 50 claps for every article you read, and it seems many people get pissed off or feel somehow cheated if they receive any less. Well, I feel compelled to discuss this further.
When I first joined Medium (as a reader) I was unaware of this ‘unwritten law’ and because I wasn’t a paid member and only reading one or two articles a month, I didn’t even give it a thought. To me, a ‘clap’ was just the equivalent of a ‘like’ on Facebook or Twitter.
When I became more active here I started reading that 50 claps was the maximum you could give for each article you read and that this was actually expected by the author/writer. If they didn’t receive the full 50 claps they would feel slighted or offended, that their post wasn’t worthy, or that the reader was just downright mean or lazy.
So, as not to be seen as some sort of pariah or be scorned by the masses, I joined the popular kids and have been giving 50 claps to all and everything I read, except comments. I know a lot of others even give 50 claps for every comment they receive, but I prefer to base my claps on the value and effort put into the responses e.g. “Nice poem” won’t garner as many claps as an in-depth analysis or discussion about what the reader actually liked…
