Yes, gamification is about marketing--and marketing is about lying to people to get them to use something they wouldn't otherwise use. It's about taking money from people because making money is the only worthwhile thing you can do in life, and you've got to have the most when you die. Comparing gamification to marketing doesn't make me feel better.
And, yes, I sure as hell would prefer forums be added to sites, and even free give-aways that might benefit me to badges that serve no purpose but to try to create an artificial feeling of accomplishment in a group of people already predisposed to such, seeing as they are gamers.
And, sorry, but you guys are rather stupid if you are actually reading articles or doing other crap because of the gamification. You know they are trying to manipulate you, and you are letting them. The more you let someone manipulate you, the more likely you will do something you don't want, something that benefits them and not you. Letting someone else control you is the path for an eventual failure.
And, if that's really all your after, then, I guess all I can do is give you 10 trlkly points for reading my message and doing what I want, instead of what they want. Maybe that will somehow entice you since you want useless baubles rather than using your brain.
(The only good thing so far is that the only badge I've gotten was in my messages. I opened it, figured out it was royally stupid, and discarded it. If I start getting covered with badges, like most sites do, I'll just go watch Zero Punctuation on some other site. There are other forums out there, too. This sites value is that it doesn't annoy me.)
