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I apologize in advance if this question seems frivolous.

Is adding badges up for discussion? If so, would the community be receptive to a "Bounty Hunter" badge? For example, it could be a gold badge awarded for earning 10 bounties. (Thanks Eric - gold does sound more reasonable than silver.)

[EDIT] Maybe also a bronze badge for "first bounty earned"?

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    $\begingroup$ I think this should probably be posed on meta.stack, since it is a site change. Do you want to pose it there, or shall I? (As I said, I think it is a great idea!) $\endgroup$ – Eric Naslund Jun 10 '11 at 23:28
  • $\begingroup$ @Eric Please feel free to move this to meta.stack. Thanks for the support! $\endgroup$ – Elliott Jun 10 '11 at 23:32
  • $\begingroup$ I don't think I can move things. (How then vote to close) I'll flag it so a moderator can. $\endgroup$ – Eric Naslund Jun 10 '11 at 23:34
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Well, there are four already:

https://math.stackexchange.com/badges

  • Altruist, First bounty you manually awarded on another person's question
  • Benefactor, First bounty you manually awarded on your own question
  • Investor, First bounty you offered on another person's question
  • Promoter, First bounty you offered on your own question

While bounty is an important tool for getting more attention for your questions, I am not sure we want to put too much emphasis on it.

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    $\begingroup$ @Jeff: From the phrasing, it seems Elliott is suggesting badges to people who earn bounties, rather than people who offer or award bounties. $\endgroup$ – Arturo Magidin Jun 10 '11 at 5:03
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    $\begingroup$ I believe Elliott was referring to badges for bounty winners, not givers. $\endgroup$ – Asaf Karagila Mod Jun 10 '11 at 5:04
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    $\begingroup$ @asaf bounty winners already get something -- the reputation from the bounty! Why heap more incentive on top of that? $\endgroup$ – Jeff Atwood Jun 10 '11 at 5:14
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    $\begingroup$ @Jeff: I don't know, personally the bounty is not the right incentive. The question is what interests me. $\endgroup$ – Asaf Karagila Mod Jun 10 '11 at 10:30
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    $\begingroup$ @Jeff I agree, but at the same time, answers with 25 upvotes result in a badge--one could say "why heap more incentive on top of 250 reputation?" $\endgroup$ – Elliott Jun 10 '11 at 10:37
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    $\begingroup$ @Asaf Absolutely, the question is what's important. I see the bounty system as a way for people to call attention to a question they find interesting (much more so than an upvote). Why not have a badge to recognize those who consistently provide high quality responses to such calls? $\endgroup$ – Elliott Jun 10 '11 at 10:39
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    $\begingroup$ @Elliott: I think this is a really good idea. A gold bounty hunter badge would be a great addition. (I say gold because who actually gets 10 bounties?) @Jeff: I think there are major flaws in what you say about "Why heap more incentive" and "too much emphasis". Usually the answers to the bounty questions are some of the best around. There is currently no badge for answering bounties. $\endgroup$ – Eric Naslund Jun 10 '11 at 16:37
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    $\begingroup$ Are some folks motivated by the badges? The only discussion I can recall here on them is how silly some folks thought they were. $\endgroup$ – Bill Dubuque Jun 10 '11 at 21:48
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    $\begingroup$ @Bill: I'll admit that I find getting badges (without manipulating the system, of course) really satisfying. That said, of course learning and teaching mathematics is the real reason for using this site. I think any user that was primarily motivated by getting badges would quickly give up and and go play video games or something. $\endgroup$ – Elliott Jun 10 '11 at 23:37

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