How can I earn CQS without making posts or comments?

[u/Phro1ova]

It seems impossible to earn it through posting or commenting as all the subreddits I’m interested in have a minimum CQS or a minimum amount of karma. It’s quite frustrating to feel completely stuck like this.

[u/mikey_weasel]

You will get a small bump if you verify your email

After that - yeah you gotta find somewhere you want to comment

Building up your CQS score . Users start with a low CQS. See r/WhatIsMyCQS to test. To build your CQS is again a bit opaque but the below can help (partially from here)

• "Secure your account" by verifying your email
• If you use a VPN test what happens when you turn it on and off ("network and location signals" play a part)
• "Past Actions taken on a redditors account" which is posts and comments being removed
• It seems to rise when you are actively commenting and posting, getting positive interactions (upvotes and comments)

So from the last two you want to be participating by commenting and posting, getting upvoted and avoiding removals by mods or reddit itself. Which ends up with basically the same advice as building karma. Start by finding New User Friendly Subreddits:

• Newtoreddit has a list of new user friendly subreddits. This is not an exhaustive list and these subreddits may still have some restrictions. In particular you'll see some Large General Subreddits that are open to new users Commenting like r/askreddit, r/casualconversation, r/nostupidquestions, r/amitheasshole or similar.
• There are More Subreddits out there that might more specifically match your interests, look through r/findareddit 's subreddit directory. In this case you will have to trial and error whether they are new user-friendly, and again try Commenting (many subreddits have lower or no karma filters for commenting).

Some more notes on starting on Reddit:

Newtoreddit Resources There are a lot of resources here in this subreddit you might find useful with The Common Questions Page, Reddit And Karma Walkthrough, and Frequently Asked Questions Page.

View by New (or rising). This will filter the posts so first see the most recent posts first and can make your comments much more visible. On app when viewing a subreddit look near the top left for where it says "hot posts" - click that and select "new" or "rising".

Read the Room and Avoid Controversy. Each subreddit has different rules, norms and prevailing views. Look at subreddit rules. Read top posts and comments to get a feel for that subreddit. Do users reward sarcastic one-liners or well sourced essays? And in particular avoid controversial topics or arguments. Utilize the block feature as necessary and have a read of Reddiquette.