There are no badges for doing anything.

Why badges are necessary? For now I see no arguments in your Q.

@FoggyFinder - please see the paragraph above which begins with: "It means a warmer welcome [...]"

Badges, like points, are a form of extrinsic motivation, or 'gamification' if you will. Extrinsic motivation has its downfalls, so I for one want a site based of intrinsic motivation which in the long run tends to be a better motivator. It's also worth mentioning that we're getting rid of the importance of rep, although some sites may keep the number if they want

@Rounin arguable. For example, I've found badges annoying.

Thanks for your well-reasoned explanation, @Mithrandir24601. Is there a balance to be struck between not wishing to go overboard on badges in order to prioritise intrinsic motivation (I absolutely see the argument for this) and not having any badges at all (which means we lose the ability to nudge positive involvement / interaction in the community) ?

We haven't designed a badge system yet -- doesn't mean we can't, but we haven't prioritized it. We're happy to hear proposals for what a badge system might reward. (We'll also need to consider the effects of badge-hunting -- do any badges motivate undesirable behaviors?) We don't want to just copy Some Other system, but that doesn't mean we can't do something of our own if it's wanted and doesn't break other things.

@FoggyFinder - I think your take on badges is absolutely fair enough and I'm sure you won't be the only one who shares that take. Fortunately, it's easily fixed by having a Codidact without Badges option in your user profile which, when selected, means you never see your own badges, are never notified of your own badges and can't see anyone else's badges either. Out of sight, out of mind.

Thanks, @MonicaCellio - great to hear badges might be a possible innovation in future even if they aren't an immediate priority. I agree with you that badges are at their best when they aren't trivial but help to nudge / shepherd / guide / reinforce desirable community-member behaviour, interaction and growth. If I recall correctly, Seth Godin's Squidoo community (way back in the mid-2000s) was rather good at this.

Badges are needless gamification! Torch the badges!

While i personally don't care about badges either way, one thing StackOverflow/SE did right in my opinion was treating them in a humorous manner. Quite a number of the badges i received there made me chuckle more than once.

Obligatory YouTube reference