I don't think they're exclusive. I see them more as long term and short term thanks. Even when I checked his github repository for the ePub translate app, there wasn't enough appreciation to warrant 2M.
I was just wondering whether the karma thingy went bust. Some kind of hyper-inflation with high-karma givers is expected, but that doesn't seem to explain it. It's curious! Too bad you can't check how much karma is awarded to a post.
EDIT: Apparently,
this phenomenon has been around forever. Someone suggested, that the newbies hang around the lounge. No idea, where that is, though. So that could be it.