If I recall, there are actually a number of things you can do to get rep besides questions and answers. You can edit a post (with more than 6 characters), you can do a review, you can flag a post for moderator attention, and I think even your first up-vote gives you a point or two. (Some of those might award badges instead - it's been a long time and the rules sometimes change.)

I feel like SO can't win no matter what it does. It has some limits, like requiring at least 6 characters before an edit is deemed useful to stop it from becoming a breeding ground for "grammar nazis" and other similar types. If they didn't do that, people would complain it's overrun with grammar nazis who don't focus on the actual code being posted. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.