[Governance Poll] Reduce the link posts multiplier to 0.25

Current situation Despite previous efforts to reduce spam, link posts continue to dominate the subreddit. Most links are low-effort and often add minimal value, with little to no actual discussion happening under the posts.

Problem The current multiplier on link posts still incentivizes users to share external links primarily as a way to farm DONUT with minimal effort. This creates a flood of generic, low-quality submissions, turning the subreddit into a link farm.

The overwhelming volume of link posts makes it difficult for more thoughtful, original content to gain visibility, and also places a heavy burden on the mods, who must scan through a high volume of spammy / redundant posts.

Solution To address this issue for once and for all, I propose reducing the link post multiplier from 0.75 to 0.25. This reduction is intended as a significant deterrent against low effort link spam, changing incentives toward higher quality, original content.

Users who continue to post solely links would receive a smaller reward, reflecting the reduced effort and community engagement value of such posts.

Advantages A lower multiplier would encourage users to invest more time in creating original content, which can lead to more meaningful discussions and community engagement.

The lower multiplier will discourage users from spamming the subreddit with low quality links just to farm DONUT, helping to declutter the feed.

With fewer posts, higher quality, user generated content will have a better chance of gaining visibility and encouraging real discussions within r/EthTrader.

Reducing link spam will lighten the workload on mods, allowing them to focus on other tasks rather than filtering out low-quality posts.

Disadvantages Users who primarily post links might feel discouraged, as the rewards would be significantly lower.

Users may change the farming meta, from link spamming to posting low-effort text content. Though, this is easier to moderate.

Conclusion This proposal aims to improve the overall quality of content on r/EthTrader, by disincentivizing low effort link farming. Even though this may lead to a temporary adjustment period, it will ultimately create a more engaged community, where original contributions are encouraged and rewarded.

Some may worry this change will reduce overall activity on the subreddit. However, the reality is that most link posts currently receive fewer than 800 - 1K views, with engagement primarily coming from farmers tipping posts rather than genuine interaction. This "activity" doesn't add meaningful value to our subreddit.

The choices are:

[YES]

[ABSTAIN]

[NO]