Dear Powers that Be,

I am a self-confessed badge tart (fellow FTers let me hear you say "Amen").

It is my desire, over time, to earn as many of those shiny little bundles of joy as I can ... whilst retaining some semblance of life outside of FT (which can be quite tricky sometimes!).

It is frustrating to know that I will never be able to earn ALL of the badges available (even if I was good enough to do so) as a number of them have been retired ... and sit there at the bottom of the Challenges list smirking away at me like cheeky little unobtainable scamps, just to rub it in!

Now, the more researchy FTers among you will refute my claim, correctly stating that "you've been a member since December 2003, and have had PLENTY of opportunity to gain all the badges on offer, so stop whining". Well, yes, that's true, however a 10+ year hiatus from the site by my good self was remedied when I rediscovered the site a few years ago.

So, back to my point. Is there any chance that (at least some of) the retired badges could be resurrected, to give those of us who haven't been able to acquire them a chance to do so? I'm sure at least some of the newer members of the site who have NEVER had a chance to go for these badges would appreciate some additional challenges.

If they can't be opened back up again permanently, then perhaps a "resurrection month" (kind of like a badge amnesty?!?) could be incorporated?!?

As always, thanks for taking the time to read my waffle and consider my plea!

ClarkyB...

I can really only speak on the badges that I had a hand in creating.

If you did not race in 'The FT Amazing Race 1, 2, or 3' when they happened, you will not be able to obtain those badgelets for their completion.

Hi,

the badges that were retired either were begun as Limited Editions (the Halloween ones) or cannot be earned any more because the underlying games / featurs of the site no longer exist. The latter kind obviously can't be reactivated for that very reason - we wouldn't have the code that supports them.

The FunTrivia badge system is explicitly designed such that there is no possibility of a complete collection. We would not want members to hog a team lead just to get the Leader badge or strive for editor status (where appointments are exceedingly rare - fewer than one per year on recent average due to the long times of service by our volunteers) just to get the Volunteer one. We also wouldn't want any members to feel compelled to potentially spend many years on a badge that isn't based on a game they actually enjoy playing. Some badges on the list would take more than 5 years to earn with perfect, daily, play and probably significantly longer for the average player.

This design is also what allows us to have awards that are elite - we wouldn't be able to make tasks that difficult or demanding on a system that people are meant to "complete".

The multiple-version badgelets on the stage games (Fish/Frog, etc) have been designed to reinforce this - the FunTrivia badge tree is one you will and can never completely climb. It is open-ended both in that we always add new things and in that you can only approach perfection. It's a direct reflection of the fact that no human being can know everything - with all the millions of questions already asked and the even more no one asked yet, there are some you won't know.

Take it as it is - FunTrivia badges are always a work in progress, just like life!

Terry did mention once that he might resurrect the Ambassador badge to give those of us who were working toward it a chance to finish it but I never heard any more about it

If I recall, there were a number of problems going on with the Refer-A-Friend feature (which was used for Diplomat and Ambassador). Any business/website would love to have new customers/members, especially who come by word-of-mouth (a friend told/referred them), but I kind of wouldn't hold my breath on seeing the "refer-and-be-rewarded" reinstated. There are lots of new social-media links, like in quiz pages, where you get the chance to share your score (e.g., on Facebook) and challenge friends to try to top it.

It was definitely taken down due to technical issues. IIRC it got to a point where every referral had to be manually checked. That's not worth keeping up for the badge.

As for the original post (and Wesley's thoughtful response), I would venture that if it's feasible, perhaps the retired badges/minis could have the "You have not yet completed this challenge" / "Reward for completion: [X]" line dropped from the header. I think part of what bugs some people (like the OP) is that the text probably feels like "dangling the carrot": "You haven't finished this yet, but when you do, here's what you'll win" -- except you can't actually complete it.

As regards the abovementioned text, consider: There is no such "incomplete" header text for the "Monthly Feature," which isn't a real challenge, but has a challenge ID for technical purposes. Since it's not an actual challenge and thus can't be "completed," the normal "challenge incomplete" lines are omitted. Maybe the same or similar could be done with the Retired Challenges items.