Frankly, I never liked the 50 claps option. It forces us to become critics rating others work.

Most who give 1 clap are newbies that don't know they can give more. But some are those who refuse to play the critic game.

I avoid the critic duty by giving everything 50 claps. It does take longer, but it makes people feel better when they get bigger clap numbers. And it releives me from judging others. If I don't like something I read, I simply don't clap.

I think the Responses section is where the real value lies. If someone takes the time to leave a response, that is like 1000 claps to me.