I've never managed to understand why everyone's buying into this "badge" concept so heavily. They're a fairly reasonable game mechanic (though I think they're

I've never managed to understand why everyone's buying into this "badge" concept so heavily. They're a fairly reasonable game mechanic (though I think they're overused even there), and game mechanics can be effective motivators, but they really only motivate people to "win". Do we really want people trying to "win" HN?