Tiered Developer Badge System (Instead of a Single Static Badge)

[ENA522]

First, thank you to the Discord team for continuing to evolve the developer ecosystem and for being transparent about changes to developer recognition. Many of us care deeply about building for Discord, and visible recognition helps make that effort feel meaningful. Having to manually write “developer” in a bio doesn’t quite replace that feeling, it turns recognition into decoration, and makes profiles feel less special and less fun to personalize.

With that in mind, here’s a simple proposal for a scalable and low-maintenance alternative:

Instead of a one-time Developer Badge, reintroduce developer recognition as a tiered badge system, similar to Nitro badge progression.

A single “Developer” badge that visually evolves based on measurable milestones:

Example Progression

• Stage 1 – Builder
  Granted when a user creates and deploys an app or bot.
• Stage 2 – Deployed
  Granted after reaching early adoption (e.g. 10–25 servers).
• Stage 3 – Established
  Granted for sustained usage (e.g. 100+ servers and time threshold).
• Stage 4 – Veteran Developer
  Granted for long-term contribution (e.g. 5+ years active with large adoption).

Why This Works

• Fully automated (no manual claims or tickets)
• Rewards long-term contribution instead of one-time activity
• Encourages quality, maintained bots
• Restores visible developer identity on user profiles
• Creates motivation through progression, not just presence
• Requires no subjective moderation

[broman]

i don’t think discord bot developers need a caste system

[Darker-Ink]

Generally I don't think a badge is needed at all; it just causes more slop bots on the platform. If anything, I'd want to see something like what was posted here: #8017 (comment)

Plus, generally I don't think it works like you might think it does:

1. Was the active developer badge not fully automated? If Discord had issues with people contacting support for a badge like that, this wouldn't be any better.

2. See point 5.

3. It does not in fact encourage quality and maintained bots; rather, I'd say the opposite. (See the original Verified Bot badge.) People would create low-effort bots, then once they get the bot in enough servers, just stop working on it.

4. What about the GitHub connection, though? Or just having it in your bio? I don't think a badge would really improve developer identity on the platform.

5. If a badge is what motivates you instead of just growing your bot, I think that's an issue. You should make a bot for fun, not to try and get something out of it like a badge.