SE can be a competition, but only if you choose to make it one
Assuming you've read the site's FAQ, you'll note that once you get beyond 25,000 reputation points, everything stops. There's literally (from a user/moderator perspective) no point in continuing. There are no more privileges to be earnedno more privileges to be earned, no more additional tools that can be accessed and no more, well, no more anything really.
So what is it that incentivises those who've hit the wall to continue to post great answers? Well, for some it's the joy of sharing, the contentment that comes from having helped fellow travelers out with their problems. For others, it's the simple glory of being recognised as one of the masters of their fandom. For still others, it's the fact that every answer is a portal into a journey of exploration and discovery, wherein you, the answerer gain as much insight as the asker. And for very few, a select few I might add, and I number myself among them, their driver is REP.
Rep glorious rep.
For those in the final category, rep is the fire in which we burn. It is what guides us and drives us. It is the purpose that defines us and in the darkness binds us. It is an addiction and a spur to greatness. It's the reason why we work to craftcraft and tweaktweak and prodprod a single answer for hours and why you'll see some of the fastest responses of any Q&A site on the web. Our greatest enemy is not each other though, our greatest enemy is the repcap that stops us earning even more of the damn stuff.
Rearview mirror
What you witnessed was intended as banter (healthy or otherwise) between two grizzled SE veterans who have faced each otherfaced each other across the field of battlefield of battle on many an occasionmany an occasion. From his comments in chat, it's clear to me that Rand's driver is the same as mine. We're both after that most elusive of prey, community approval (AKA rep).
The comment itself was largely directed at him personally, rather than being intended for general consumption.
That all being said
To quote Tango's answer above:
...don't worry about competing. Just enjoy the site and the people you interact with. Those that are competing are playing a game with each other. If, at some, point, you want to join in, you can, but there's no reason to. Any competition is totally unofficial and generally ignorable.
The site is only a competition if you view it as such. If what you want to do is potter around, ask the odd question and post the occasional answer then that's wonderful.
