I suck at badges. Even as a girl scout my sash was empty. But I’m kinda new here so don’t even understand how they are given out. But I have an etiquette question - what is the best way to let someone know you really like his or her response? Do you click the heart icon? Enter a comment in solidarity? Let it go by thereby allowing the discussion to continue uninterrupted? Every community has its own style. What’s up here?
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I cant say I am a big fan of badges, but they do not offend me either. I suppose if the site needs to pass them out, OK, but if they went away, I would not miss them.
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You can click on a members avatar and it will bring up their “card.” Click on the card and it will bring you to their profile. There it will have a tab for badges. Click on the badges and you will see what badges that member has. Click on each badge and you will see when the badge was granted. If the badge was granted based on posting, links, likes or something like that you will see which posts were involved.
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I don’t like badges and wouldn’t mind if they all disappeared.
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From my limited point of view, a complimentary, well written comment is the best indication of resonance and solidarity. A nice comment plus a like is even better. As in real life, compliments costs nothing to give and you never run out.
I’ve never been much motivated by awards, trophies, or medallions of recognition. The human feedback is the reward that motivates me. At least TuD’s badges aren’t gathering dust at the back of some drawer. They satisfy my minimalist requirement of not encumbering me with their physical stature.
I like reading your comments, @Judith_in_Portland, fellow denizen of the Rose City!
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I never even noticed them and “could care less” – if that’s possible. It’s like saxes in a big band: I tolerate them, but can’t wait for the holiday season so they can be replaced by alto horns or French horns when playing the Kenton Christmas Music. 
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[quote=“Sam19, post:12, topic:58524, full:true”]
I’m nuetral on the idea… I don’t even know what badges I or anyone else has…
[/quote]Me too, and not only do I not know…I don’t care. Now blue ribbons, THOSE matter lol!!
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I can say that I’m not a fan of badges, but they do not offend me either.
However, I was very excited to get the Joslin 50 year T1D medal as my ‘badge’.
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I know it from the original – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948.
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I pretty much ignore them. There are a lot of things in online interactions that some people find very valuable, but others find irritating and still others simply ignore. Much like the advice you see in the DOC – take what you find valuable and ignore the rest.
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I too am not a big fan of the badge system, but I just ignore them and they hardly exist for me any more.
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Well–I did like getting Girl Scout badges. But then again, they were for actually learning something…
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I just don’t like a world in which we need a reward to connect with each other. Of course that is kind of the world that is taking shape around us…Sigh…
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Interesting take. But kind of sad…
I really did like getting Brownie and Girl Scout badges…Sigh…
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What a beautiful, empathetic, knowledgeable response. Thank you, my dear. I love that you get it emotionally and technically at the same time. I believe profoundly that as we advance into the future those spheres of endeavor must gradually meld—or we are in for deep trouble as human beings…
Thank you. And all bright blessings of the universe to you…Judith in Portland
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very well explained.
i think i remember the badges, but especially the like and flag options were one of the reasons we decided 2 years ago to choose discourse as our new home. compared to the old host (i forgot the name, was it ning or something like that?) it has reduced admin requirement tremendously, because any member now can flag posts and therefore be part of the admin team.
the badge system in my opinion is also not very necessary, but some people can be guided with it, for those it is great, and for the rest of us, we can just ignore it 
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Working on that “ignore it” part. Easier said than done–as they say…
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One use for the badges is in what’s called “your title” - did you ever wonder why some members here have “type1 or LADA” or “type 2” or “parent to a type 1” to the right of their avatar on all comments? It’s because they filled out their profile and picked one of their badges as their “title”. I feel this is very helpful for those participating in discussions to understand who is speaking to them.
@WestOfPecos, for example. Several weeks ago I noticed he was becoming especially helpful to other parents here. I suggested he might want to fill out his preferences with the title “parent of a type 1” Then when others saw his activity, others would immediately see that he was also a parent. It just helps us get to know each other better.
To look at a member’s badges, click on their avatar, bringing up their user card. click on the card to go to their profiles page. there’s a button for badges.
some badges are automatically given by discourse, like the ones for “nice topic” - they get generated when your comments get so many “likes” etc. If you did not fill out your profile completely when you joined, you may not have the ones for “type 1” or “parent”. If you’d like to have one of those badges, please let me know. I’d be very happy to help you. Likewise, if you somehow got one in error, like “healthcare provider”, I can help you with that too.
To look at available badges, click on the hamburger (the 3 stacked bars on the upper right" and click “badges”.
Badges help us get to know each other.
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