so if there's going to be badges for well crafted and maintained guides~ why is there one for ackeron's contest? is there going to be badges for any contest?
I answered this already, in a response to you.
why was there a need to have badges?
I was asked if I'd do something as a one-off for a contest. It was just as easy for me to write it in a generic fashion that would allow for other things, so this thread's real purpose is to answer the question, "What are the other things we can do with this?"
It's possible that the answer is "Not much, really", which is fine. But if there's uses, especially things that encourage community involvement, I'd be derelict in my duties if I didn't try to find and implement them.
So yeah, not a need, but something I did while doing other things, and thought it could have potential.
My job is to tend to the health and growth of the site, and that includes the forum/community. So if someone's contest brings people together and boosts the community, sure, I'd give them a badge. There'd be some discussion about particulars, but why would I agree to write a bunch of code and infrastructure for a one time thing?
I'm fully okay with the possibility that there isn't a workable suggestion for badges beyond the guide makers and contest winners. If this thread yielded more good ideas, awesome, that's why I made it, but if it doesn't? That's okay too.
What I've mostly gotten from this thread is the sense that what people value on the forums varies wildly.