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When on the page that shows recent members who have earned x, Y, or Z badge... there is a big, handsome, clickable instance of the aforementioned honor, with a VERY brief description. (The description should be BIGGER and BOLDER, too, BTW.) However, any attempts to click on the badge result in a pleasing - yet misleading - degree of visual feedback. These badges link to, drumroll... nowhere. :-(

This seems like a logical place to "get into" the badge system, or maybe even as gateway drug to OCD reputation-mongering, but alas it is not... Is this decidedly "cold-link" a conscious decision, or simply a weird omission?

the anti-link

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    Where did you expect it to take you from that page anyway? Nov 15, 2011 at 6:53
  • I gave two, of about 10 different places it could take you... besides an ambiguous click to nowhere....
    – alex gray
    Nov 15, 2011 at 6:55
  • It links back to the badge page for Civic Duty - it doesn't just "click to nowhere". Nov 15, 2011 at 7:13
  • that's the point... the behavior I am speaking of is ON the page that is target of the link, itself.
    – alex gray
    Nov 15, 2011 at 7:50
  • Reading some questions is like swimming through quicksand; I actually feel tired after trying to interpret what in the world you want. You couldn't just say "the badge on a badge info page links to the page itself; it should link somewhere else"? Nov 15, 2011 at 13:42

2 Answers 2

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The badge takes to a page, but you can notice it only with some badges. For example, find a user with the Revival badge, and click on the badge shown in his user profile; you will be taken to the page listing all the posts for which the user gained that badge.

screenshot

Now click on the badge shown in that page: You will be taken to the page listing the posts that "recently" gained that badge, independently from the user who wrote the post. In the case of the Revival badge, the list goes back to November 2, 2010.

screenshot

Some badges don't list the posts for which the user gained the badge. When you click on the badge shown in the user profile, you are taken directly to a page similar to the one shown in the second screenshot; in that case, the badge links directly to the same page.

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  • Ooh, excellent example here. Nov 15, 2011 at 16:33
  • Thanks for responding without feeling the need to comment on what an idiot I am! I like the way the badge linking system works... my question, though is purely regarding the behavior on the "Recently Awarded" page. That is where it "doesn't really do anything". Nitpicking on meta seems to be a fool's pursuit.. so I am accepting your answer, barring any fabulous, future revelations on the subject. :-)
    – alex gray
    Nov 15, 2011 at 22:55
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The link on the Civic Duty badge page directs to nowhere other than, gasp, the Civic Duty badge page, just like it would from any other page that includes the Civic Duty badge on it.

This behavior is exactly as it would be for any other page on SO, so this is good predictable behavior.

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  • I've never seen an SO "link" element - especially one with a visual flourish - that does not a: somehow effect a script within the current page, or b: initiate a load sequence to another page. This non-behaviour is atypical, kind of unsatisfying, and serves no purpose in its current form.
    – alex gray
    Nov 15, 2011 at 8:08
  • I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Define "SO link element" for me please? Also, this is not the only type of link that behaves this way - for example, clicking on any of the large tabs (Questions, Tags, Users, Badges, Unanswered) after you've already visited them causes a page reload, just like the badges. Nov 15, 2011 at 8:11
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    @alex another example: the question link on a question page takes you to... the question Nov 15, 2011 at 13:43
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    @alex another example: the main logo on the home page takes you to the home page
    – AakashM
    Nov 15, 2011 at 14:02
  • And in the end, it will refresh the badge listing, causing the list of users who have it to refresh as well, so it may show new users who have it. Nov 15, 2011 at 16:34

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