I've been trying to evaluate the percentages of users, hits, votes, etc. some of the requirements on gold badges (100 votes) seem to be on par with a site that has the traffic and use of StackOverflow.
While I appreciate the goal of having the same calibre of SO, are the bars reasonable?
The badges are set up the same on every site. For consistancy and to allow the badges to have roughly the same meaning across the network they are for the same value on all of the sites. It wouldn't make sense consistancy wise to allow beta sites to get more gold badges than a site that's been around a lot longer.
It'd also be a logistical nightmare. Let's say we were to lower the bar on gold badges on a beta site. What happens if/when the site graduates? Do those who have gold badges lose them? Do they keep them? Again, it's easier to just have one standard network wide.
While the badges are not unobtainable, they are definitely harder in a beta site due to the reduced traffic compared to a graduated site.
I can only assume there are not reduced badge constraints because they don't want to make it too easy to get a badge like Legendary or of the same sort. The purpose behind the badges is a way to encourage users to stick around and contribute more to the site.
