I like your last paragraph. Good points. (Doesn't mean I don't like the first two though.)
Immediate rewards...Hmm, we are certainly in an instant-gratification society for sure. Maybe an issue, but if someone was instantly rewarded for a comment would there be subsequent ones? The auto vote thing is interesting too. I have a few, and yet, in the last 48 hours have made 260+ comments...And not short ones either. Still, I guess many are reward-focused and don't find different meanings for the word reward. I agree that commenting shows one's ability...Maybe because there's so much plagiarism people are afraid to engage in real-time commenting? I don't know.
More balance though, that's what's needed...A more balanced approach to onboarding, newbie-retention (and support) and in the content-consume-curate process.
None of us are spectacular writers...If we were we would not be here...We're just all normal and average people playing out our lives here. I think it's time for people to stop trying to be the smartest person in the room and all start pulling in the same direction...Oh hang on, we're humans and in the last 45,000 haven't been able to achieve that.
I just post and vote though, no one special, not smart, not dumb, just average. So, what do I know?