User blog comment:Agent M/Shout Box V.2/@comment-1915803-20120723032141/@comment-1915803-20120723190140

…Are you accusing me of badge-grabbing? I'm unclear as to what you meant. Or do you mean other users were in the process of doing that as I posted that comment?

I don't see why we should remove the badges. They're not really harmful even though they could make people overly competitive. Some people may see it as motivation. Personally, I fancy it but I don't pay too much attention.