I'm not sure I like the idea of needing a ++ vote to get any
XP for a post. Many times if I post a reply 2 or more levels
removed from a root node, it is overlooked and never voted
for. Part of this may be because it is useful only to the
person who I was replying to, and they may be out of votes or
simply choose not to vote for me.
I think one of the goals of any change in the voting system
should be to prevent the 'karma whoring' phenomenon seen on
slashdot. People who post a hasty reply right below the root
node are more likely to get votes simply because they are
the first reply people see when they look at the node, and
as long as they are somewhat useful and polite, they will get
votes. This is not to say that people who write in depth
replies that appear much further down the page don't get votes,
they often do. But I think we should strive to continue
rewarding the latter behavior and possibly even discouraging
the former.
Just my .02,
Mark