I wouldn't say they generally hurt discussion, just in this case they probably will, especially with the Reddit exodus. The problem with XP-farming comments is that they are quick and easy to post, and block out good discussion. With the XP-farming, these posts are almost encouraged. Since the actual comment post gets XP, and a user doesn't need to worry about getting upvotes to generate the XP, low quality comments are going to be everywhere. What might be better is a system with a little XP given to every comment, and then more XP given if the comment is well-upvoted. The base number can't be zero, or else you basically end up with a best-pun-contest thread like many good reddit discussions devolved into. Maybe someone should come up with an improved system and post to the improvement tribe.
I wouldn't say they generally hurt discussion, just in this case they probably will, especially with the Reddit exodus. The problem with XP-farming comments is that they are quick and easy to post, and block out good discussion. With the XP-farming, these posts are almost encouraged. Since the actual comment post gets XP, and a user doesn't need to worry about getting upvotes to generate the XP, low quality comments are going to be everywhere. What might be better is a system with a little XP given to every comment, and then more XP given if the comment is well-upvoted. The base number can't be zero, or else you basically end up with a best-pun-contest thread like many good reddit discussions devolved into. Maybe someone should come up with an improved system and post to the improvement tribe.