My issue is when "dummy content" becomes so prominant it simply transitions into noise. And we all know the internet has enough noise as it is. To me, "gamification" risks adding to that noise. And when noise outweighs signal... you end up something like modern news sites (minus the hypothesized "reader elite" sites of the future).
Personally though, I'm not concerned. The thing is, this transition into noise will be its own undoing. I'd not want to be a "gamification package" developer or marketer right now. Simply put, for every such package they sell, the value of the existing ones decreases as users get densistised and learn to filter the systems out as another form of internet noise. Its a self-defeating production line with a limited lifespan.
I think if anything, the Escapist handles such a system fairly well for three reasons:
1. It is tailored to the site. It is not simply a generic system adapted and shoehorned in.
2. It is appropriate. This is a gaming website. The signup quest on Dropbox on the flip side had me grinding my teeth. Game is not for data storage. If, say, my bank ever pulls this stunt for its online banking site, I'll look into switching to their rival immediately as that is a realm in which noise is completely inappropriate and unacceptable.
3. It more recently has offered ambiguous badges as a means to foster creativity. Classic example is your collection of letters, with the goal being to spell out DICK or something. Or that chap(pette?) with "1984" written out under his/her name.
It's much the same as achievements in games themselves. They hold the power to act as a convenient and welcomed breadcrumb trail to content than might have been missed... but most developers abuse them. Compare it to a developer's commentary on a DVD pointing out stuff in the background or trivia. On the flip side, kill 50 orcs / post 50 new threads is so very, very bad.
