Hats are at the end of the day generally for fun and to promote participation, but it does not change how participation should look on Stack Exchange. It is normal and good to have increased activity, but the right type of activity. Things like good answers to forgotten questions, even if just for the sake of earning a hat, are a positive contribution to the community.

However, asking for votes on content to gain a hat rather than because it is good content is bad because votes are to be used to indicate the quality and helpfulness of answers and as a way to reflect the contribution a post had to the community, and voting for a game like this goes against what SE wants with the whole voting and reputation system.

Long story short, have fun with the game, but the whole point is to encourage positive behavior and increased participation, not for people to behave against how they would normally abide by the rules for the sake of the game.

@HyperNeutrino IMO StackExchange should change the rules next year to not give out any hats that require upvotes on posts

then this whole debacle would be over before it even started

That might be in their best interests. I think incentivizing getting upvotes should push for and encourage good contributions and content but if it's based on upvotes people will always try to directly just obtain those internet points, so they may as well remove it.

I think giving upvotes should become a habit. If you think the answer is worthy of an upvote, give it. Getting people to give more upvotes over the year may start in the bash.

@Willeke It really does help. It encourages new users as they see their score rise, and it helps folks feel their posts are worth the effort.

wrong site, sorry.