I have been a MakeUseOf user for a little while now. I feel there may be areas that could be considered for improvement and I thought this was probably the best place to open a dialogue.
Replies for prizes - I think MakeUseOf have a great strategy to encourage more user participation by offering very nice prizes in response for loyalty and participation. But, and I did this a little myself at first, the impression is that the more you post the greater chance to win. So we have the situation where individuals take up much of the page thanking for the post and nothing else, or "I will do this" without adding to the experience for future readers.
I would prefer a button that you could press to thank the author and let the prizes be for notable contributors. Maybe have a button on each reply that other users can press when impressed by a particular comment.
Seek articles - I have found that the team are very good in their articles on the whole especially in areas that they are specialist, but in some instances, content is not being written holistically, sometimes titles do not get researched enough to fulfill the need of the user to find an answer. So perhaps points can be gained by external writers submitting articles, maybe proof-read and critiqued by the team. Maybe user thanks can be turned into points.
Questions are often not highlighted as resolved - I am aware you rely on the user to mark when a problem has been resolved, but I wonder if you could automate an email after a fortnight to ask the original poser if they have resolved their question.
MakeUseOf Guide - I would recommend that there be a PDF in the guides section about how to get the best out of the site, how to submit content and articles etc.
I know this kind of thread was done 2 years ago https://www.makeuseof.com/answers/makeuseof-answers-2/ but I think it is always one that can do with revisiting, even offer a prize for participating an a way that stands out positively! I know I have just shot myself in the foot cause I would probably not be eligible for suggesting it!
Thanks for reading!