@ctrlaltchaos @HerraBRE Discourse does actually limit your permissions until you gain trust levels, it's a clever system...
But that's actually separate to the badge system, which I can take or leave, personally. But the number of users who replied "thanks!" to the automated messages that *seem* to come from me (the admin) suggests people do like them.
For the record, badges can be disabled per-category, but unless you think they're doing actual harm, I'd leave it.