Reddit introduces 'community awards' to encourage healthier conversation

If you've spent any time lately on r/DunderMifflin, the subreddit dedicated to fans of The Office, you might have noticed something new: a series of new "awards" peppering the group's most popular posts.

These new virtual gifts — a gold "Dundie Award" statuette, a green stack of "Schrute Bucks" — are part inside joke, part badge of honor for the group, which has more than 1 million subscribers. It's also Reddit's latest effort to make its communities healthier (and, perhaps, bring in some additional revenue in the process).

These are Reddit's "community awards," a new type of in-app gift Reddit is officially launching today, after a few months of testing. Community awards are an extension of Reddit's more well-known virtual kudos, like the coveted "Reddit Gold" that Redditors are known to hand out to noteworthy posts (there are also silver and platinum markers).

Community awards are a bit like Reddit Gold, in that you buy them with Reddit Coins (the service's in-app currency, which you pay for with real money) and you can give them out on any post that catches your eye. But, unlike gold, the themed community awards are specific to individual subreddits.