Why are my badges different?

Question

Depending on where I'm at in Area51 my number of badges change, and depending on where i'm at in Area51 when i click my name i get a different list of badges that i've earned.

Proposals:

• Civic Duty
• Caucus
• Radical
• Editor
• Commentator
• Centrist
• Pioneer
• Advocate
• Autobiographer

Discuss:

• Critic
• Organizer
• Citizen Patrol
• Editor
• Commentator
• Scholar
• Student
• Revival
• Teacher
• Supporter
• Autobiographer

Note: the bold badges are the ones that are different between the two.

Is there a reason for the discrepancy? Is this something that could be changed? I ask because to me it's a bit disorienting. It also raises the question on whether the badges seen in the proposals or in the discussions reflect the section, or of it's a composite of both.

Edit: actually i got to looking and the badges in the proposals are your composite for all SE sites (at elast ones with 200 rep right?)

Answer 1

The discussion site is a separate site, much like any per-site Meta is compared to the main site. You may notice that on all of the Stack Exchange sites, the Meta site keeps track of a separate set of badges, and this is because your badges are based on your contributions on that particular site section.

You have different badges on Discuss because Discuss operates like a Meta site - you get the badges that are the same as with the normal Q&A sites. Area 51 has its own set of badges that correspond to the whole proposal process, which naturally cannot be found in the Q&A of Discuss.

To continue the parallel, your Area 51 identity will always be showing your Area 51 badges. Only your specific Area 51 Discuss user, like seen while browsing Area 51 discuss, will show the Area 51 Discuss badges, just like your per-site Meta user will be the only one to show badges you have earned on that particular per-site Meta. All flair defaults tend to be on the main site, and this is what you'll see scattered throughout the main Area 51 as well as on your associated account links.