Badges are a simple way to recognize the achievements of members as they contribute to operations and to the SIMS network. These are stored in a table within the database, which allows for easy management of them as we continually add new ones. The many-to-many relationship of users to badges means that each user can have many badges, and those badges are not exclusive (except for a few rare ones which are meant to serve as awards).
To learn more about the badges that are available and how common they are, see this dedicated page. The badges on user profiles link directly to this index.
Regular versus Special Edition Badges
Most badges recognize achievements or special qualifications that all members are eligible for. These regular badges can be assigned automatically by the Portal, by SIMS Remote Coordinators during a response, or on an ad hoc basis by Portal Administrators (see sections below for these processes). However, certain badges may only apply to specific events like a workshop, or recognize a particular individual with an exclusive badge. SIMS Remote Coordinators cannot access these—only Portal Administrators can.
You can identify these special edition badges on people’s profiles by the gold star at the top right of the image.
Badge Assignment by SIMS Remote Coordinators
Badges assignment can be done by SIMS Remote Coordinators for anyone that has been listed as providing support to the SIMS operation to which they are managing. When viewing an emergency record for which they are listed as a Coordinator, an additional menu option appears called “Assign Badges”. This will bring the user to a page that has two drop-downs: one for selecting the member (only members tagged to an assignment for this emergency and listed as filling role type “Remote IM Support” will appear here) and one for selecting the badge. Click assign to given them the badge. The database will log which user assigned the badge, and it will reject the badge assignment if the user already has it.
Note that when being assigned by SIMS Remote Coordinators, the list of badges available will be limited to regular badges—special edition badges can only be assigned by Portal Administrators.
Badge Assignment by Portal Administrators
Badges are typically assigned by SIMS Remote Coordinators, since they have the best insight into remote supporters’ contributions. However, Portal Administrators can also assign them. They can assign both regular and special edition badges.
To assign a badge as an Administrator, go to the admin portal within this site and click on the “Badge Assignment” tab. First select the member, then the badge in the dropdown. Note that badges cannot be duplicated on a single user, and you will receive an error message if you try to assign a badge to a user than already has it.
Automatically Assigned Badges
While many badges are subjective—for example, the Gold Medal Relay for good handover between Coordinators—most have clear and objective criteria. Wherever possible, we’ve built automatic badge assignment processes that run on a daily basis. A series of scripts runs that analyzes data in the database, and when all conditions for a given badge are met, the system will automatically assign it without the need for any Coordinator or Administrator action.
At launch, the badges that the Portal will automatically assign are:
- Maiden Voyage
- Big Wig
- Self-Promoter
- Polyglot
- Autobiographer
- Edward Tufte
- World Traveler
- Old Salt
Creating New Badges
New badges can be added by SIMS Portal Administrators. The new badge creation process involves using an Illustrator template to design it, then uploading it through the admin portal’s “Upload Badge” link.
We created a video to help ensure that new badges follow a uniform visual style with the template:
