The Completionist's Dilemma

Question

For those of us who are completionists (individuals who are driven to complete whatever they start, whatever that may entail), the badges can be a bit of a nuisance. I asked previously if it would be possible to remove the badges that are next to impossible to acquire here on Worldbuilding, considering our active community. We don't have the capability to do that (and may not want to, given the accepted answer), but that leaves completionists like me (and Tim B) in a bit of a jam.

I seem to remember there was a discussion in the comments here on Meta a while ago (I can't find it now) suggesting users were specifically taking actions to award badges to each other, but that was on viable questions.

Would it be acceptable to create questions/answers specifically to acquire badges?

For example, posting a question indicating that users should not look at it, vote on it, or answer it for a week, in order to get the Tumbleweed badge.

I understand that doing this may reduce the quality of site, if too many users opt to acquire all the badges. This could be considered a form of social experiment using the site itself as a Worldbuilding question. ("Given these constraints, how would society respond?" is a frequently-asked question, after all.)

Answer 1

This is not something I would support. Learn to live with disappointment, and I do not mean to come off snarky.

The desire to be a completionist is admirable in my opinion (if you're not a little OCD you're not doing it right!) but is conceptually flawed in this case. Setting a goal that cannot be completed without cheating the system is not the systems fault, rather it is the fault of flawed goals.

In the end we are also talking about imaginary internet points right? I do understand how that can make a person's brain itch, I have that problem in certain situations as well, but I assure you that learning to ignore that itch when it doesn't really matter is a good life skill to pick up.

Answer 2

I understand that doing this may reduce the quality of site

That should be your answer, right there. Why would we want to take active steps to reduce the quality of the site?

I can see no valid reason whatsoever for that.

Some badges are easy to get (Autobiographer comes to mind). Others are hard to get. Consider badges like Reversal, Unsung Hero, and so on.

Answer 3

I understand you. But badges should be about achievements. Cheating and cheap tactics are not for the best interests of the community.

Still, if done right, chasing down badges can be good for the community.

• Announcer: Share link to your questions or questions that you like to help the growth of the community.

• Vote (up or down): we have on a good day, 20+ question and an average of 5 answers per question. That is roughly 120 posts. It's not that hard to get the : Vox Populi (40 votes on a day), Suffrage (30 votes). Voting is important, it lets everyone know what content is good/bad. That said, don't vote on every single post unless you read them. Otherwise it will hurt the quality of the site.

• You can also work your way to get the electorate badge. It's a long run but by now we have plenty of good content to vote on.

• Reviewer: Complete at least 250 review tasks. This badge is awarded once per review type. And Proofreader :Approve or reject 100 suggested edits. That is quite easy to get and doesn't take too much time. There is always something waiting in the review queue.

• Strunk & White: In the same vein, as you read posts, edit mistakes if you see them. I normally have 3-4 edits everyday. You can get it pretty easily if you do it regularly with close to 400 posts per week or so. In no time, you will get the Copy Editor badge (3-4 months maybe) :)

  Also consider the Explainer badge (edit and answer a question afterward.

• Revival and necromancer: old questions need answers too. Some might be old but it doesn't mean there is noting more to add.

• Deputy: Flag bad content when you see it.

• Self-Learner: Answering your own questions sounds odd but sharing your knowledge with the community is a good thing in the end.

• Research Assistant: Many tags don't have descriptions yet. Although the creation of new tags is much slower than a year ago, new tags are still created every now and then.