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Given the importance of getting the word out about the new SE sites in beta, perhaps there could be badges and/or rep for those that successfully recruit users to a beta SE site?

I haven't though through the specifics of a proposal, so I'm tagging this discussion, rather than feature-request. Any ideas? Are there ways that this could feasibly be done? Is this generally considered desirable?

We need to keep in mind that SF and SU followed on SO's coat-tails, but Food and Cooking will not get the same automatic audience. We have to promote promotion.

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The kind of reward system you're describing already exists on Area51:

When a proposal enters the commitment phase, you can earn reputation by referring users to the proposal:

Referred user commits to the proposal +5 Referred user participates in the beta +25 You earn the most reputation when a user follows through on their commitment, and that extra reputation won't count towards your maximum reputation per day.

I think you're suggesting that you should be able to generate the referral points on the specific beta site (Gaming) rather than A51, which would seem to make sense given that the user base there will increasingly tend to have no connection to A51.

The easiest approach to what you're asking would simply be to create an identical system, but with a different referral link connected to the site. Then, If you use the referral link from the Gaming site, say, you'd get the referral points there, rather than on A51.

But there's a major flaw there, which is why (I think) you currently only can get badges on the actual beta sites for referrals: While referring active users is desirable activity, the number of users you refer is not a good proxy for how much the community should trust you. If you award meaningful points on the Gaming site for referrals, you could essentially get to moderator-like status without demonstrating meaningful expertise or contributing to the dialogue.

I'd be inclined to leave it as is.

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  • Well said. Not surprisingly, others have thought through this more carefully than I have. – Eric Wilson Jul 10 '10 at 20:49
  • @Farmboy, thanks. But it's questions like yours that provoke the discussions that lead to those (hopefully) well-thought-out approaches. You're contributing to the evolution... – Jaydles Jul 10 '10 at 21:01
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This should already be covered in the following badges on Area 51:

  • Activist
  • Campaigner
  • Promoter

They're awarded when you refer 100, 25 and 5 committers to a proposal respectively.

Whether or not those who "commit" actually follow through is another matter.

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  • it is another matter we are trying to study at the moment.. – Jeff Atwood Jul 11 '10 at 4:23
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Old request, but prescient!

https://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/09/announcer-booster-and-publicist-badges/

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