I try to give at least a few upvotes a day. Every couple of days I make a post asking for comments specifically so I can upvote them.

I don't know really. I just know if something shows up I'll say, "Heck yeah! We need more of this!"

I'm happy with it, but I worry users can end up with a bad reputation unfairly and then it will be hard to get it back up.

The majority of what I have was probably author rewards but I've also earned a fair amount of it from interest since my account is almost two months old.

Don't worry about how much your posts (or anyone else's) are making. Just use it like Reddit. Most content will earn you little to nothing, but every once in a while you'll hit it big. Concern yourself more with commenting and voting. Even a comment can earn you a couple hundred dollars. Also, be patient, the site is still new and it needs some time to mature and really be what we all imagine.