Like I mentioned in the title, I realize and admit right off the bat that this concept has the potential to add to site functionality (if possible, it’d be cool if when you hovered over a “badge“ in a user’s profile, a lil pop-up would show explaining what the badge was for, and the date the user earned it. In this case, I could see it adding some slight functionality, as well in others more so, that I explain further down in the post), it’d also make our current stock profiles more aesthetically pleasing. Having “badges” or images that will forever stay in a SaidIt users profile would be a nostalgic lil stamp on their account.

I also realize how similar this may sound to Reddit’s “trophy” system but I’m not asking for that at all - think maybe video game achievements, but for a website (Some old-school forums used to do this, but with sub-titles, username color changes or stars as the “badges”), that are harder to unlock and more scarce, and also only available during certain times through SaidIt’s stages of growth (serving some nostalgia factor). Unlike Reddit’s trophies, I think it’d be cool if we had “badges” displayed somewhere in our profiles that:

• Were meaningful. You don’t just get one for being a “new user”, or how Reddit hands them out if you pay them to gild another user. Think of them as achievements that could also be used to support the pyramid of debate; certain levels of badges unlockable for earning certain levels of insight (it’d be noticeable if people abused this system as posts only get a certain amount of points on average and no matter the user, it’s never a steady supply of insight or funny, posts go unnoticed, which is one of the many reasons I like SaidIt - you can detect abuse). Or a “badge” for creating over 35 posts that were rated 15+ insightful (and the qualifications can changed as the site grows and normal voting numbers increase - this is why displaying the date the user earned it would be cool. The qualifications could be looked at each month, or year, whenever needed and all you’d have to do is bump up numbers in the script).

• Aesthetically pleasing. I’d be down for anything if /u/magnora7 or /u/d3rr even considered or had the time for this concept, but I think the badges would be cool if they were smaller than the 64 x 64 Reddit Trophies, and maybe pixel graphics (Saidit has a diy feel and culture to it imho and this keeps up with that culture and feel. Also, this way, we could hold competitions for seasonal, event, or even normal badges and users could submit their own pixel badge ideas and concepts. Pixel art isn’t too hard, especially when you get below 64x64).

• Back on the aesthetics topic, our profiles are currently empty minus our post history. I really think this would make things more interesting: Again, I’d be down for anything, but imho, I think unlike with Reddit’s lame “trophy box” (which is just a black square boarder), it’d be cool to maybe draw some influence from pixel video games, like how badges were kept in Pokémon or how dialogue boxes looked/appeared in similar era games. This would make coding it and fitting it into our profiles easier - the design for the “badge container” would still be cool and interesting, but it’d be a repeating pattern that just stretches depending on how many badges are in the users profile. Again, with the pixel concept in mind, you could go wild with inspiration for the container while keeping the work minimal - just look at dialogue containers for many different gameboy era

• The nostalgia factor again. It would be cool to be able to hover over, or click the badge, and see what it’s for & when the user earned it. It’d make SaidIt feel more fun and like a community, imo.

• There doesn’t have to be a lot of badges. For example, if you wanted to make an achievement that unlocked a badge for something like submitting 35 posts with 15 insightful points, you could keep going and double it, and add a second tier where if they make 70 posts that earn at least 15 insightful points, their prior badge will be replaced with a “level 2 version” of that achievements badge. I’m sure there’d be room for something like this in our profiles, having the badges under 64x64 and displaying them maybe in rows of 3x3 or 4x4 depending on the agreed upon uniform size for badges (maybe you want them slightly bigger than the insightful or funny icons - that’d still be cool imho!)

• Like I mentioned about the Pyramid Of Debate before, these badges can act as incentives for users to submit quality content and discussion in order to earn these badges. They can also mark users who constantly submit or have quality content and conversation, over someone who appears to be an honest/trustworthy user to newer users, but is just here to stir shit.

Beyond this, all I can say is I think “badges” would be cool and fun. I think they have the potential to add more incentive to follow the PoD, mark long-time and quality users, provide nostalgia factor with possible special “event” or “annual seasonal” badges (Like if you had an account for the spring of 2019, you get a badge added for that, for example), and I just think they’d be cool and look aesthetically pleasing! I just feel this would have to be implemented in a way where it isn’t abusable & all the badges/achievements are either neutral or positive things that can only be unlocked by actually contributing to SaidIt.

I feel SaidIt has a very simple, diy-feel to it, and tbh that’s why I feel pixel, arcade/90’s style badges made even in MS paint could look pretty cool and I’m sure i, along with plenty of other users could easily create & submit custom and original pixel art to SaidIt for free.

What do you guys think about this? Do you think it’d even be a possibility? I feel SaidIt needs some element of fun to it and I don’t see how this could hurt, I actually see ways in which this could be used to support and incentivize the PoD.