I think the system works fine the way it is... some may game it but to say that the thanks received by those in the past is somehow "fluffy" or "frivolous" kind of hurts my <sniff> feelings </sniff>

I have seen 25 or 30 "thanks" piled on one line posts in a matter of hours and whether it is a joke that lifts the spirit of the forums at the time, a line of code that cleans up a community project, or the location of a file in the system that allows an application to be used in a new way. The poster earned the thanks.

I have also seen posts that were made months ago slowly gain thanks as new users find the information helpful...
It all seems to even out.

What the "thanks" system has done is allowed enthusiasts an opportunity to earn karma...
Prior to that, karma was only earned in the other maemo.org components I believe, and not from contributions in this forum.

In any event, I'm not sure, but I doubt there are many that are eligible for discounts based solely on karma received from this forum. If there are, I know from my own experience it wasn't from frivolous and fluffy posts and it certainly wasn't instantaneous.

I am a believer in the value of forums in the development of ideas and thoughts that benefit a community. I am glad maemo.org and Nokia recognizes this as well.