A new Redditor joins the site, and is delighted by all that he sees. During his browsing, he encounters an amusing image that he has never seen… and is dismayed when another user shrieks about it being a repost.

“Well,” the new Redditor replies, “*I* haven’t seen it, so it doesn’t matter!”

Days pass, and the Redditor continues his electronic journey. Then, one evening, he encounters the same image, and the same complaints of it being a repost.

“Well,” the new Redditor answers, “*I* might have seen it, but *other people* may not have!”

Still more time passes, and the Redditor becomes well acquainted with much of the site’s content. As he continues browsing, he encounters the same image *yet again*, along with still another person decrying its recycled nature.

“Well,” the Redditor thinks, “*I’ve* seen it, and a lot of other people have also seen it… and now that I think about it, the person sharing it really only seems interested in karma. Still, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Exactly a year later, the Redditor’s Cake Day arrives. He logs into the site… and sees the same reposted image.

“That does it!” the Redditor shouts. “This is clearly not being shared for its entertainment value, but for an easy karma-grab! It’s not original, and the person posting it is acting as though they made it! Henceforth, I am *only* going to offer things that *I made*, and I’d encourage everyone else to do the same!”

In response, another user – one who had just joined the site – replies: “Well, *I* haven’t seen it, so it doesn’t matter!”