Every user has a rank that shows up next to their name in forum threads. It's a quick read on how active someone's been, and it advances automatically — no applying, no moderator approval, no opaque trust score.
How rank advances
Rank is tied to karma, which is the sum of scores on your non-deleted forum posts. Upvotes push the score up, downvotes push it down. If you delete a post, its score stops counting. Each useful thing you post nudges you toward the next tier.
The calculation is live. The moment your karma crosses a threshold, the new title shows up on your next forum view. No waiting for a nightly job.
The tiers
From lowest to highest karma:
- Newbie — 0 to 9 karma. The default. Everyone starts here.
- Member — 10 karma. At least one post landed and got some love.
- Regular — 100 karma. You show up and contribute.
- Power User — 1,000 karma. One of the steady voices on the board.
- Elite — 5,000 karma. Core contributors.
Where to look
Your rank appears under your username on any thread view. Your total karma is on your profile page; that's the number you're actually working with. If you want to see the gap to the next tier, subtract your karma from the next threshold above.
Earning it
Nothing clever here — post things people find useful. Answer questions that don't have good answers yet. Share finds from the bench, the attic, the BBS. Karma follows usefulness, and rank follows karma.
