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I would assume that the suggestions relayed by users of the SOFU sites to The Company which are ultimately implemented are considered, at least by Jeff, Joel, et al as good additions to the sites in general. I wonder if it would be appropriate that these interested users be rewarded for this behavior.

I offer for discussion the implementation of a meta-specific badge for a user who proposes a feature which is ultimately implemented. With a certain lack of creativity, I propose the name 'Business Analyst.' A nuance could be that you need to receive n 'status-completed' tags before earning the badge.

In the spirit of the Japanese adage 花より団子 ('hana yori dango' or 'f**k the flowers, give me dumplings'), instead of a badge, a rep bonus could be awarded per 'status-completed'-tagged post.

Your thoughts?

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    Mmm... dumplings...
    – Shog9
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:35
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    i appreciate the downvotes, but as we are on meta, a comment would be appreciated
    – akf
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:38
  • @akf: Why? Downvotes on MSO are anonymous just like anywhere else.
    – GEOCHET
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:40
  • @Rich B: well, yes they are, but isn't there a consensus to encourage comments for downvotes?
    – akf
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:42
  • @akf: And the site does that, you don't need to repeat the effort. It is an encouraged behavior, not required.
    – GEOCHET
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:44
  • Comments for down votes yes, on Meta, it's a different beast, appreciate that difference. It doesn't even prompt you to add a comment on here either.
    – random
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:51
  • @random: I agree that meta is different, it is much less desirable to leave a comment here IMO. That is all just noise.
    – GEOCHET
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:53
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    @Rich B: would that imply that you should have just upvoted @random's comment, as it is the built-in convention to indicate agreement with a comment? I mean, otherwise it is just noise.
    – akf
    Aug 27, 2009 at 8:15
  • @akf: To vote, you need votes left.
    – GEOCHET
    Aug 27, 2009 at 13:28

4 Answers 4

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Just an observation more than a vote for/against this.

With all the features added to Stack Overflow in the last year, can you think of any features that were a direct result of an idea by a specific person? Name the person and the feature. Maybe one? Most feature origins aren't that direct.

The point is that many features are borne out of on-going collaboration. Some are resurrected ideas whose time has finally come. Some are finally implemented only after repeated nagging and persistent feature requests. I have requested features which were already in the works.

The result is that Jeff&Co would have to implement some formal feature-tracking process. Then they have to resolve the inevitable me-first/me-too conflicts that would erupt every time they tweak some part of the system operation.

Are the net results worth it?

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  • According to the blog, vote-to-close was pretty much a direct result of a request by Mike Stone. But, he made it via email, so that doesn't really make a good argument for a badge on Meta...
    – Shog9
    Aug 27, 2009 at 1:27
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    True - most 'feature-ideas' are independently thought of by multiple people. On my products I tend to add a feature when enough separate people have separately requested it. This is cheaper and more effective than combing a 'back-log' and (for the interested reader) more in-line with Lean thinking.
    – Leon Bambrick
    Aug 27, 2009 at 2:01
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I don't think there has been any shortage of feature requests, so I don't know you would think there possibly needs to be any type of extra encouragement to do so.

I don't think a possible reward would be a bad idea. I like the badge idea to a point. Like I said, I just can't imagine it being something to encourage a behavior that is already very prevalent (perhaps some would argue too prevalent).

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  • Yeah, I was going to put in an acknowledgment of a double-edged sword here, but I figured that it would come out in discussion (thus the tag). The badge, in my mind, would be akin to the Good Answer badge - where the 100pt reward for 10 upvotes, as Rich B says, would be 'good enough' but the recognition for the good idea would be a token of gratitude.
    – akf
    Aug 27, 2009 at 0:36
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This sounds horrible, the rep you get on MSO should be more than enough.

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I don't agree that there should be a badge for this, as most feature requests are collaborative efforts.

Please note that I regularly browse the list of feature requests by votes, like so:

https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged?tagnames=feature-request+-status-declined+-status-deferred&sort=votes

So if you want a [feature-request] implemented, vote for it -- or convince others to vote for it!

Here's a list of feature requests that have been implemented to date.

https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged?tagnames=feature-request%20status-completed&sort=newest

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