Add Open Badge Infrastructure

@DamienMcKenna - I'm proposing ideas like this to try to try to make Drupal more sustainable. Nothing that I've proposed would I want to be implemented without debate, goals & clear metrics to determine success.

I've looked around at a few Badge systems, the best one I've come across is:
http://astronautacademy.org/stem-badges/badge-depot/badges/database

I don't know if has been successful. Just because it works for Girl Guides & Scouts doesn't mean it transfers to others.

Certainly there are risks:

• How ‘Gamification’ Can Make Your Customer Service Worse
• Kathy Sierra On Gamification In Education

Mind you, neither of these says that there are never appropriate times to use gamification. They certainly raise the risks of these approaches. "It's not *always* bad. But ALWAYS a risk, & this risk is widely misunderstood or ignored." - @seriouspony.

Mozilla seems to be using it https://wiki.mozilla.org/Badges/FAQs

Autonomy, Purpose & Mastery are things which seem to motivate people:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

But does this type of badge system produce the "dopamine reward system is thought by neuroscientists (e.g. Eagleman) to "hijack the brain" reduces rational thinking." - @seriouspony

Some books on this issue:

• The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation (Oxford Library of Psychology)
• Handbook of Self-Determination Research

There are definitely risks and this needs to be thought through before it is implemented.

EDIT: When asked specifically about badges, @seriouspony thought there were better ways, but that a course grained implementation of badges could be of benefit.

Finally stumbled across Mozilla's Badges in use by their community:

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/badges/
• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/badges/awards
• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/user/287
• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/badges/badge/2014-support-forum-badge/...

There really doesn't seem to be enough here to get metric as to whether or not it increases participation.

Interesting listening to @seriouspony's podcast looking at B. F. Skinner's Operant conditioning, options & alternatives.

Interesting visuals of positive/negative re-inforcement +R, +P, -R, -P motivators:
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/lilita/5383389900/

With all this I figured I'd drop Mozilla:

• Outline of from Reputation/badges system guide page in 2012.
• Exploring Solutions: Showing Reputation/Experience on Drupal.org profiles
• Reputation/badges system for drupal.org: proposal
• Reputation systems: how others do it
• Prairie Sub-Module https://drupal.org/project/reputation with http://simplytest.me/project/reputation with demo http://test-reputation.gotpantheon.com/ and http://simplytest.me/project/reputation

Very impressive where things were in 2012.

EDIT: Also from the IdeasScale discussion http://drupal-association.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Add-a-reputation-badges-sy...

Great ideas from the Expertise/Reputation system: initial draft from 2012.

Adding reference to the Acquia badges idea, which in a broader context like Open Badges, might turn what looks like a bad idea into a good one.

That's great! Have you read Building Web Reputation Systems By Randy Farmer & Bryce Glass?

I'm only about half way into it, but it's got some great ideas.

Do you think you could put up any of the slides you've done for it? Would be great to help nudge this issue along over the summer and get more people things to think about.

I don't think that the profiles work should be held up for any reason. You've talked to danigrrl and having that team aware of Open Badges will help. Having a cleaned up profile page will certainly help the effectiveness if/when Open Badges are implemented.

I wish I could make it to Amsterdam. Totally good to propose a BoF though. I'd happily promote it from this side of the pond.