I don't really like badges the way the article's system is designed (this coming form a guy whose startup is about helping sites gives users points and badges).

I don't really like badges the way the article's system is designed (this coming form a guy whose startup is about helping sites gives users points and badges). A big part of the kickback that I see from people on here has to do with turning Hacker News into something that gets "played". I prefer a system where you can recognize and reward users for their individual participation. For it to avoid gaminess (in the bad sense of the term) it needs to be about milestones that are meaningful and further the goals of the site. In other words, a badge for 10 submissions, 50 submissions, 100 submissions, etc., etc., would not be a good system as it could encourage people to spam. A reward for 10 submissions, each with at least 15 up votes, while not perfect, is a little better. All of this belies the point that HN is not really a great candidate for a badge system. There just isn't enough to do. A user can submit, comment, vote, and flag. That just isn't enough actions to build a compelling system around. I do think that contextual reputation could be a good thing - if reading comments on an article about scalability, knowing that a user has posted quality comments or articles about the topic in the past helps me to weigh the value of the current comment. HN isn't really set up for this though. So, as much as I'd love pg to call me up and ask about integrating IActionable into HN, I don't think it would really be a great idea at this time.