Back when reddit was smaller and more community driven, and went down more often, it was pretty much known to not do much. You got access to a gold subreddit and it was more or less a way to donate to a website you used a lot.
This made more sense when reddit was a small community driven upstart with frequent meetups, and secret santas, and a smaller feel.
Then reddit became one of the biggest websites on the web and I dont quite get why people kept doing it.