<quote who="Chitu Okoli" date="Thu,
Apr 26, 2012 at 04:02:39PM -0400">
> In this case, I actually started this project with the hunch that
> barnstars would lead to a slight decline in editing behavior;
That's the projected conclusion from e.g. Alfie Kohn,
http://naggum.no/motivation.html
also included in Emacs distros as ./etc/MOTIVATION
It may be important that the barnstars are ephemeral/symbolic - if
they could be traded for cash they might have less of an effect.
Still, Kohn extends the 'critique' (if it is one) to symbolic praise
(viz symbolic violence)
http://www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/gj.htm
(Note, I realize most WP top editors are not children, and the logic
of praise may be very different in different age groups.)