Karma and launch prep
How members earn karma, and the one step a free launch asks for before launch day. Every number here is read from the code that applies it.
Effective Date: October 31, 2026
The short version
How karma is earned
| Action | Karma | Counts when |
|---|---|---|
| Publish a launch | +10 | When your launch goes live. |
| Get a vote | +1 | Each member who upvotes one of your launches. |
| Give a vote | +1 | Each launch by another founder you upvote. A brand-new account's vote counts once it is confirmed the next day. |
| Write a genuine comment | +2 | On another founder's launch: at least 60 characters, no links. |
| Give genuine launch feedback | +5 | Ratings plus a note of at least 60 characters, no links, on another founder's launch. Once per launch. |
| Feedback the founder marks helpful | +10 | On top of the above, when the founder marks your note helpful. |
| Get a prompt into the library | +15 | A prompt you sent that is accepted. |
Karma is counted from what happened, once a day, and the community leaderboard shows the last 30 days. A deleted comment or a vote that is taken back stops counting. Voting on your own launch is not possible, so it never earns karma.
Launch prep
Launch day works when the founders launching that week show up for each other. So a free launch asks its founder for one short step in the week before it goes live:
- Upvote 5 launches by other founders.
- Leave 2 genuine comments on other founders' launches: a question, feedback, or what you would use it for. A launch feedback note counts as a comment.
- Do both between 7 days before your launch day and Thursday 22:00 UTC, two hours before launches go live on Friday at 00:00 UTC.
Your progress shows on My Launches, and we email you when your week opens. It applies to free launches from November 13, 2026 on. Paid launches skip it.
What counts
- Upvotes count on launches by other founders, one per launch.
- A comment counts when it is at least 60 characters, has no links, is on someone else's launch and is not the same text as another of yours.
- A comment that is deleted stops counting. Comments that read as filler ("Great product!" repeated) do not help the founder and may be removed.
- Commenting needs an account at least 24 hours old, so sign in a day or two before your week opens.
If you miss it
Nothing is rejected. If launch prep is not finished by Thursday 22:00 UTC, your launch moves to the next open free Friday and we email you the new date. Your listing and page stay as they are, and the same step applies to the new week.
Questions
- Why ask for this? Because a launch board where nobody votes or comments helps nobody. Founders who take part get the same back on their own day.
- Do my upvotes have to go to the same launches as my comments? No. Any launches by other founders count.
- Does it apply to paid launches? No. A paid launch picks its own day and goes live on it.