Being an active member on the Erlang Forums helps you progress through Trust Levels, giving you abilities that will allow you to get involved in some of the moderation here. Here’s how it’s measured…
All new members start at Level 0 and can’t do the following:
- Send private messages to other users
- Reply as new topic in the right gutter (UI removed)
- Flag posts
- Post any images
- 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
Level 1 - Basic (usually takes about 15 minutes to progress to this!)
Criteria to get to level 1…
- enter at least 5 topics
- read at least 30 posts
- spend a total of 10 minutes reading posts
You can then use all core functions:
- Upload images and attachments
- Edit wiki posts
- Flag posts
- Have all new user (Level 0) restrictions removed
Level 2 - Members
Members keep coming back to the site, and have participated long enough to earn complete citizenship.
Get 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
- Invite outside users to PMs making a group PM
- Daily like limit increased by 1.5 ×
Level 3 - Regular
Regulars are the most active readers and reliable contributors over long periods of time.
Get to trust level 3 by…
This 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.
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…
- Recategorize and rename topics
- Access a private “frequent flier’s lounge” category only visible to users at trust level 3 and higher
- Spam flags cast on TL0 user posts immediately reach the action threshold
- Daily like limit increased by 2 ×
Level 4 - Leader
Leaders are regulars who have been around forever and seen everything. They set a positive example for the community through their actions and their posts. If you need advice, these are the folks you turn to first.
Get to trust level 4 by…
TOP SECRET! 
Users at trust level 4 can…
- Edit all posts
- Pin/unpin topic
- Close topic
- Archive topic
- Make topic unlisted
- Split and merge topics
- Daily like limit increased by 3 ×