If you really want to clone 9gag, you don’t need to actually log any votes. It’s a fake community run by the admins. Here, read: 9GAG "Repost Machine" Explained : 9gag
They blindly copy all popular content from reddit, tumblr, funnyjunk, etc, remove watermarks, use a random fake user account to submit it, then alter the submission date to make it seem like it was posted there first, and push it directly to the front page, then censor any comments that might mention the original source or any rival website. Very scummy stuff.
I’ve had this sameconversation before with a different coat of paint and glitter, as I seem to describe this deja vu sense of “Same shit, different day.”
Discourse is not the proper tool for the job. I won’t get into the whole argument on perpetuating the meme-cancer (the one that takes something funny and drives it into the ground; that one) but I will at least offer alternatives. The biggest is WordPress. That can be anything you want. I bet with a few plugins you can turn any WordPress installation into a 9gag or buzzfeed clone.
The best thing to do is find out why you specifically chose Discourse to be the software that makes your site a reality. Why do you want to use Discourse if it has built-in features you would have to take hours or lots of cash to undo them for your needs?
