> **Possible Duplicate:** > [Is the Critic badge badge awarded prematurely](http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2137/is-the-critic-badge-badge-awarded-prematurely) I currently have the Critic badge, but no downvotes. I was immediately awarded the badge upon clicking the down arrow, even though I canceled before the downvote was made permanent. Expected behavior: The badge should be awarded when the downvote becomes un-undoable, not before. The [related][1] question is tagged "by design" but this behavior has resulted in an inconsistent state — namely, I have a badge without the prereqs. [1]: http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2137/is-the-critic-badge-badge-awarded-prematurely