you want to start giving out medals now...
that's all that would be... a 'merit badge'
it can be whatever you want it to be. it could be helpful, hell it could attract people to the site who think they're worthy of having a badge, and maybe motivate some people to help others on here.
don't people work hard so they can get a raise? its not like these badges would be easy to get, and maybe the rules would simply be if u ask for one u arent getting one.
i dont see any negative signs from adding them, do you? i see more people joining the site, having reliable sources when we need help, motivation to come up with good tips, help topics, or just creative posts in it's own.
yeah, there may be some people who want a badge real bad, and do what they can to get it, but isn't that a good thing? think about it.