Gaming communities can be rough, but I can’t think of another forum like Steam which is across so many games consistently incredibly toxic towards developers, even if their product is fine with only minor issues and no predatory monetization. They are my least favorite place of conversation.
What would you do to improve the culture around them?
Relying on karma has a whole slew of issues, especially in something that is already a proper Wretched Hive of toxic bullshit. Look at Reddit, for example.
You don’t have to do karma the way Reddit does it. Reddit actually suffers from it in two ways. The first is that the easiest way to get karma is empty posts or reposts. With steam, I think that’s harder to do. Best way to get karma would just be to make decent guides for games. Write good or funny reviews. Etc.
The other way it suffers from it is that it shows you the actual number. You don’t need to do that. You can just have levels ranging from “very bad” or “very good” karma. And people with “very good” karma have to maintain it and maybe get something from it.
I think it’s still better than hiring a ton of people to moderate every small community discussion. It’s also better than leaving it as it is or using reports. At the very least people with frequent downvotes or posts with downvotes should be promoted less or hidden or shadowbanned.