# How is the Reversal badge awarded to this trigo question?

The Help Center shows the requirement.

Provide an answer of +20 score to a question of -5 score. This badge can be awarded multiple times.

In the timeline of the most recent question on the list, no downvote on the question can be observed. How can this question satisfy the requirement of a -5 score?

• We will see whether somebody can find more about this, but this has quite likely something to do with merging. The answer was originally posted to this question which was merged with the one you're linking to (revisions/timeline). Apr 3, 2018 at 10:23
• @Martin: If I were a gambling man, I'd say that you're spot on.
– Asaf Karagila Mod
Apr 3, 2018 at 10:42
• Maybe it got few up votes after the badge was awarded. Apr 10, 2018 at 11:07
• @SmarthBansal That's possible, but I believe merging is more probable. Apr 10, 2018 at 11:15

Since nobody suggested another reason and this seems as the most likely explanation, I'll expand my comment to an answer.

The reason for this behavior seems to be that the answer was originally posted to another question which was then merged with this question. The older question is now deleted but before deleting it got to the score $-12$. So if we take this question into account, the answer satisfies the criteria for the badge.

It is a separate question whether the reversal badge should behave this way if the questions were merged. In any case, such question would probably be more suitable to network-wide meta than to a local meta. (I doubt that this behavior is site specific.)

I will add that every user can see in the revision history and timeline of the question that another question was merged with this one. And even without examining the timeline, just by noticing that the answer has older timestamp than the question under which it is (currently) posted, it's possible to guess1 that the answer got to this question via merging.

Since the older question was deleted in the meantime, you can see that one only if you have sufficient reputation to see deleted posts. But if you can see the question, the merging is marked in a banner under the question, in the revision history and in the timeline.

1I cannot think of some scenario when an answer is older then the question other than merging. But maybe there are other possibilities - Stack Exchange network seems to be full of weird things and unexpected surprises.