Medals are Visual Space's rare form of recognition for contributions that deserve to be remembered. A Medal is given on behalf of a space, carries a personal reason, and becomes a lasting certificate for the recipient. For the broader recognition picture, including everyday Awards, start with Rewards.
Recognition Meant To Last
Awards are quick item-level appreciation. Medals serve a different purpose: they recognize a meaningful contribution to a community, discipline, or shared effort. They do not come from a member's spendable Award balance, and Medals cannot be purchased.
Each Medal brings several parts of the recognition together:
These details appear together on the Medal certificate. That makes a Medal closer to an informal diploma or endorsement than a reaction to one post, message, or other item.
Giving On Behalf Of A Space
Space owners can give Medals. A member can also give them when a space role grants Give medals permission. The action is offered for another member, not for your own account.
The issuing space is an important choice because its name and identity become part of the certificate. When you open Give medal, Visual Space finds the spaces you have joined where you are authorized to give Medals. If the current space is authorized and still has Medals available, it is preferred; otherwise, you can choose another eligible source space.
The source-space picker helps you make that decision before choosing a category:
If none of your joined spaces allows you to give Medals, the picker explains that there is no authorized source space. The complete giving journey is covered in Give a Medal.
One Allowance Shared By The Space
Every space can give five Medals per UTC calendar month. This is one shared allowance for the space, used by its owner and all members who have Give medals permission. It is not five Medals for each giver.
For example, if two authorized members give three Medals between them, the space has two left for that UTC month. Giving from another authorized space uses that other space's allowance instead. When a new UTC month begins, each space has a fresh allowance of five; previous recognition remains in history.
The remaining count shown while choosing a Medal helps you avoid an exhausted space. The allowance is checked again when the Medal is confirmed, so another authorized giver may use the last available Medal while your certificate is still open. A Medal is complete only after Visual Space accepts it and shows the success confirmation.
The Medals available number in My medals needs special care. It adds the remaining allowances from every joined space where you are authorized to give Medals. It is not personal inventory. A total of 8, for example, might combine three remaining Medals from one space and five from another, with each amount still shared by everyone authorized in that space.
Choose The Contribution To Recognize
The Medal catalog contains 21 illustrated categories. Choose the category that best describes the contribution, then use the personal reason to make the recognition specific to the recipient.
Selecting a category does not give the Medal immediately. It enables Preview medal, where you can review the full certificate before making the recognition final.
The Certificate Is Part Of The Medal
The preview shows the recipient, Medal category and artwork, issuing space, giver, and current date. It also provides the place to write the recognition reason. The reason is required, cannot contain only spaces, and can be up to 280 characters.
A strong reason says what the person contributed and why it mattered. The category supplies the broad subject; the message makes the Medal personal. Because the recipient can return to this text later, it is worth being concrete rather than repeating the category name.
Use Give medal only after checking the source space, recipient, category, and message. Canceling the picker or preview does not use the monthly allowance. If confirmation fails, the certificate stays open so you can keep your message and try again. A successful confirmation names the Medal, recipient, source space, and giver, and the source space's remaining allowance is reduced by one.
Profile Showcase And Personal History
Medals appear in two places with deliberately different scopes. The profile showcase explains recognition within the space you are currently viewing, while My medals gives the signed-in person an account-wide record.
For signed-in viewers, a member's profile can show up to six Medal types earned in the current space context. View all opens the complete space-scoped collection, and selecting a Medal opens its read-only certificate with the issuing space, original date, and saved reason. If the same Medal type was given more than once in that space, the showcase represents it with the latest certificate for that type. Learn how this fits into the rest of a member's public identity in Profiles.
The compact showcase keeps the Medal beside the member identity and identifies its issuing space.
The certificate preserves the recognized member, issuing space, Medal subject, date, and available saved reason without exposing an issuing action.
My medals brings together every Medal event associated with your account across spaces. It opens on Received and also provides a Gifted view. Each history entry can show the category, the other person, source space, date, and recognition message. Repeated Medals remain separate events here, so the account history can contain more detail than a space-scoped profile showcase.
For help comparing the showcase, certificates, and account history, follow Review Medals and Certificates.
Recognition That Stays With The Recipient
A confirmed Medal cannot currently be edited, transferred, revoked, or taken back. Its certificate and account-history entry preserve the recognition as it was given. Previewing the category, source space, recipient, and reason before confirmation is therefore an important part of the experience.
Common Questions
Can I buy more Medals?
No. Medals are not purchasable and do not use a personal Award balance. Their rarity comes from the shared five-per-UTC-month allowance assigned to each space.
Does every authorized giver receive five Medals each month?
No. The owner and all members with Give medals permission draw from the same five-Medal space allowance.
Why is my Medals available total higher than five?
My medals adds the remaining allowances from all authorized joined spaces. The total can exceed five, but every part of it still belongs to a particular space and is shared with that space's other authorized givers.
Why can I see a space but not select it when giving a Medal?
That space has used its monthly allowance. Choose another authorized source space with Medals remaining, or wait for the next UTC month.
Why does a profile show fewer Medals than My medals?
A profile shows the latest certificate for each Medal type in the current space context. My medals keeps every received and gifted event across spaces.
When will a recipient see a newly given Medal?
The giver sees confirmation immediately after the Medal succeeds. The recipient sees the new recognition when their profile or My medals data is loaded again, so reopening or refreshing that view may be necessary.
Can I correct the reason after giving the Medal?
No. Confirmed Medals cannot currently be edited or revoked. Review the certificate carefully before selecting Give medal.