Recently, I’ve been seeing a bunch of “social mining,” “points,” and “identity badges” again. Put simply, it’s turning the time you spend getting noticed into a string of numbers. Anyway, I’m a bit too lazy to play along and run in circles: if you really want to build an identity, it should at least bring tangible rights / lower costs / smoother collaboration; otherwise, it’s just a sticker that says “Hi, I’m trying hard.”

Take a look at that whole re-staking and shared security setup again—no surprise that people complain about the compounded returns, with all the complexity stacked like a nesting doll. Once a points mechanism is added, it’s like coffee with sugar: it tastes good, but the more you drink it, the more uneasy you feel. My approach is a bit more “plain and straightforward”: first ask yourself whether there’s any chance the protocol’s fee switch can actually be turned on, and what needs still remain after the token incentives have faded. If there’s no clear answer, then put in less effort—badges aren’t worth much; sleep is worth more.