This post was based off of (and most of it was stolen from) the original post on Discourse Meta here.
User trust levels are a way of…
- Sandboxing new users in your community so that they cannot accidentally (or intentionally!) hurt themselves, the forum, or other users while they are learning what to do.
- Granting experienced users more rights so that they can help maintain and moderate the community they generously contribute so much of their time to.
The User Trust Levels we offer:
0 (New Member) → 1 (Rising Star) → 2 (SketchUpper) → 3 (Top Contributor) → Sage → 4 (Administrator)
We also have a Badge called SketchUp Employee. Those are usually at the SketchUpper or SketchUp Sage level and some are at the Administrator Level. That badge is reserved for those who work for SketchUp.
Let’s break it down!!
Users at trust level 0 (New member) cannot…
- Send private messages to other users
- Reply as new topic in the right gutter (UI removed)
- Flag posts
- Post more than one (1) image
- Post any attachments
- Post more than 2 hyperlinks in a post
- Have actual links in the ‘about me’ field of their profile (will be silently and temporarily converted to plain text)
- Mention more than 2 users in a post
**Rising Star, Level 1** ***What it means to us:*** You are an up-and-comer who is newer to the forums and/or developing your product knowledge.
What it means to Discourse: If you stick around long enough to read a bit, Discourse now trusts you as a basic user.
They can get to trust level 1 by…
- entering at least 3 topics
- reading at least 15 posts
- spend a total of 6 minutes reading posts
Users at trust level 1 can…
- use all core Discourse functions
- Upload images and attachments if enabled
- Edit wiki posts
- Flag posts
- have all new user restrictions removed
**SketchUpper, Level 2** ***What it means to us:*** You are a member and have jumped into one of the many forum posts, answered a question, and participated in existing conversations. You have also posted a new thread, or at least thought about it. You now are turning your focus on your posting style, quality of answers, and relationships with Top Contributors and Rising Stars.
What it means to Discourse: Members keep coming back to the site, and have participated long enough to earn complete citizenship.
They can get to trust level 2 by…
- visiting at least 15 days, not sequentially
- casting at least 1 like
- receiving at least 1 like
- replying to at least 3 different topics
- entering at least 20 topics
- reading at least 100 posts
- spend a total of 60 minutes reading posts
Users at trust level 2 can…
- Use the “Invite others to this topic” button for one-click onboarding of new users to participate in topics
- Invite outside users to PMs making a group PM
**Top Contributor, Level 3** ***What it means to us:*** You are one of the most knowledgeable and active forum participants and have been active in the forum continuously.
What it means to Discourse: Regulars are the most active readers and reliable contributors over long periods of time. Getting to level 3 is time and activity based, unlike the previous levels. In the last 100 days…
- must have visited at least 50% of days
- must have replied to at least 10 different topics
- of topics created in the last 100 days, must have viewed 25% of posts created in the last 100 days, must have read 25%, must have received 20 likes, and given 30 likes.*
- must not have received more than 5 spam or offensive flags (with unique posts and unique users for each, confirmed by a moderator)
- must not have been suspended
** These likes must be across a minimum number of different users (1/5 the number), across a minimum number of different days (1/4 the number). Likes cannot be from PMs.*
All of these must be true.
- Unlike other trust levels, you can lose trust level 3 status. If you dip below these requirements, whether from flagging or the passage of time, you will be demoted to Member. However, in order to avoid constant promotion/demotion situations, there is a 2-week grace period immediately after gaining Trust Level 3 during which you will not be demoted.
Users at trust level 3 can…
- recategorized and rename topics
- have all their links followed (we remove automatic nofollow163)
- spam flags cast on TL0 user posts immediately reach the action threshold
Our criteria for choosing Top Contributors may change over time as we learn what truly makes a Top Contributor “the tops.”
**4 (Administrator)** Those in this level are a few members of the SketchUp team who help moderate, edit and clean up the Forum. They keep up the maintenance of the architecture and keep the quality up.
They can get to trust level 4 by…
- Working for SketchUp and admin on the Forum.
Users at trust level 4 can…
- edit all posts
- pin/unpin topic
- close topic
- archive topic
- make topic unlisted
- Split and merge topics
- They can possibly become moderators by…
- manual appointment by another moderator
- a not-yet-implemented election process
Sage
When you’re not answering questions in the forums, you might be testing new features or advocating for product changes. SketchUp Sages are Top Contributors, but not all Top Contributors are SketchUp Sages. Sages are meant to be mostly made up of Community, and non SketchUp employee, members.
Some qualities you have as a SketchUp Sage:
- Helpful: Each SketchUp Sage answers thousands of questions to educate and help others, to foster community engagement, and to influence the future of SketchUp’s products.
- Knowledgeable: SketchUp Sages are trusted partners, connecting regularly with SketchUp to stay in-the-know about new and improved product features.
- Technical: SketchUp Sages know the ins and outs of SketchUp’s products. Many SketchUp Sages specialize in a specific product, while others share their expertise across several forums (and sometimes across several languages)
- Provide help and advice to Rising Stars, SketchUppers, help forum newbies, and anyone interested in learning more.
Becoming a Sage is invite only. If your interested in learning more, or want to be considered, please PM @jody, @AlexB or @Tommy. Our team monitors the Forum closely and extends invitations to those who emanate the Sage attitude as identified above.
