Get your taxes done using TurboTax
They are a way to acknowledge your participation in the TurboTax Community!
As community members post more, or answer more, their 'level' increases. This isn't exactly the same as those badges, but it gives you a way to know if the person answering a post is brand-new (Level 1) or has been around here for ages (Level 15).
You can even become a community champion, if you want!
If you just want the system to slow its roll when letting you know about activity on your posts -- you can take a look at your notification settings:
