I’ve been leaving a bunch of comments about badges, and wanted to tie it all together in one note for anyone who cares. Here are my evolving thoughts:
Obviously there’s been a bunch of hype, and that’s cool, but a bunch of people are still confused and some are even upset. Worry not, badges are harmless and much of the hype is likely to die down fast anyway.
First of all, I’m not a game designer, but I’ve played enough games to know that badges are mostly useless. For a badge to feel special it typically needs to:
1. Be difficult to achieve
2. Be available for anyone to try to achieve it
3. Come from some important central entity
It’s not to say that friend to friend badges are useless or won’t last, but I’d wager the hype on those will be the first to die, and fast.
I think the best use of badges is if it comes from important community entities or people who are central to Nostr’s ability to keep going. For the most part this means clients, and perhaps the founder of the protocol. Some developers can also command that kind of influence. One off events might also be good candidates for badges.
The main issue with nostr badges is that they can be created by anyone - and that makes them less special. Also, the fact that the playing field is not even (anyone can create a badge only for a specific subset of people and not everyone), makes them double ineffective. A sense of mission, struggle and achievement is required for badges to feel special. Again, this is where I think clients will be good candidates to issue them.
All that being said it’s still good fun, though I don’t expect it to last long.
