5 Questions About Clapping With Annoyingly Ambiguous Answers

Some clapping rules are clear, but not all. What’s your take on these questions of Medium etiquette?

I explained recently why clapping one time may signal the exact opposite of what we intend.

Today we explore a few further clapping mysteries that may be driving you (or the writers you’re interacting with) crazy:

1. If one clap is an insult and 50 claps is the maximum, what does it mean to clap somewhere in between?
2. Should you clap on an article you disagree with?
3. What’s up with clapping in comments?
4. The greater than or lesser than conundrum: Does it mean something when you clap more (or less) than the person you’re interacting with?
5. Will one clap get you a follow? Will 50 claps?

1. More Than One But Less Than 50

One clap and 50 claps have this in common: they both require no thought. The single-clapper probably doesn't know any better, and the 50-clapper does it everywhere.

What to make of the person who gives you 5, 20, 30, or some other number of claps? They know one clap is impolite, so they give more.

Why that number of claps and what does it mean?

I say don’t read too much into it. It could be many things or nothing.

• They’re feeling rushed
• They liked your story (or comment) but don’t want to overdo it
• They had a fight with their spouse, dog, or both
• They only use prime numbers
• They refuse to be bound by the strictures of conformity

If you note me giving 21 claps, it’s because I was born on the 21st.

2. Disagree But Clap Anyway?

I struggle with this one. I don’t mind when someone comes to a different conclusion than me. Who says I’m right all the time?

I want to clap to acknowledge their effort. But I don’t want to give the false sense that I support their conclusion.

My conclusion is that I will only clap on such stories when I also leave a comment explaining what I think. I usually do both.

By the way, that’s led to some fascinating exchanges.

3. Why Clap In Comments?

It doesn’t appear that claps in comments serve any algorithmic purpose in terms of views or earnings.

The author sees your comment and can clap or respond or both. Other readers see your comment and can also clap or respond.

Some comments are, however, miniature works of art. They are deserving of publication as their own articles. I’ve said so to several of my more prolific commenters.

So when I clap on a comment, it’s to acknowledge that someone has put in a good effort and help ensure that other readers will see it.

Note that comments are shown in “Most Relevant” order by default. Comments with the most claps are therefore shown first.

You can change the default view to Most Recent, which is helpful for older stories. For example, when you want to see if readers left any new comments since you last looked.

4. What (More Than) And (Less Than) Mean

You clap 50 times and the person responds with a single clap. What’s up with that?

Or say they start by clapping 5, 10, or 20 times. Do you have to clap the same number of times without sending a secret signal?

I honestly don’t know. I try to clap at least as many times as the person leaving claps, assuming they left more than one.

Am I a jerk for leaving 21 when they leave 20? (No, see infra. birthday above.)

But am I sending a message when I leave 31 claps in response to 5? I don’t even know myself.

5. Will Clap For Follows

I suspect a lot of people clap on a story any number of times from one to 50 in the hope that the author will see their clap and follow them.

That isn’t so effective in my experience. True, I see claps in my notifications. What I can’t immediately see, however, is whether the person clapping is already a follower.

I assume it’s more likely than not a person clapping is already a follower. So I don’t usually feel any need to go check their profile. Thus, merely clapping for an author you haven’t interacted with yet does you less good than you might wish.

Following a new author without doing more also does you little good.

If you want someone to check out your work, you must read, clap, and comment. Interestingly, you don’t need to follow them. I happily interact with authors I don’t want to follow when they spend time with my stuff.

Alright, Your Turn

Enough of my musings. Please let me know what you do and why.

I will periodically update this article to reflect what I hear the Mediumverse saying.

With time, this article can serve as a helpful reference for new and old alike to navigate the sometimes tricky world of clapping.

Be well.