Welcome! 
Tranchess Forums adopts the “trust level system” so there’s a natural progression for participants in the community, and also so our new users don’t accidentally hurt themselves or other users while learning what to do on the forum. To help you progress in the trust level system, here are a few tips that you would want to know.
Trust Level 0
All newly registered users start at Trust Level 0*. At tl0, you can reply to posts but cannot create new topics. All newcomers are restricted to 3 posts/replies per topic, and have access only to the basic functions in the forum. Complex replies with embedded media might require staff review at tl0, and tl0 users cannot edit their old posts. This sandbox mode saves users the worry of accidentally clicking on buttons that they don’t really understand while familiarizing themselves with the forum.
Newcomers are promoted to Trust Level 1 users after meeting the following criteria:
- Entering and reading five different topics;
- Reading 15 posts or more (this would be re-adjusted back to the default 30 posts after 15 days);
- Spending 20mins or more on the forum;
*（Note: The forum adopts a “bootstrap mode” where the first 50 users who signed up are automatically granted TL1. After the first 50, newly registered users would start at Trust Level 0）
Trust Level 1
Trust Level 1 (short as tl1 below) is the level many users will be spending the most time at during the early stage. As a tl1 user, you no longer have a quantity limit for the number of posts you can reply to in the topic (still, do mind the quality, please). Tl1 users are free to play with the fancier replies and set up polls. Tl1 users can edit their previous replies but cannot create new topics.
Being a Trust Level 1 user means you are now on your way to being a community opinion leader. Participate in topics, communicate with your fellow members, and don’t hesitate to send out “likes” when you see posts you agree with. Trust Level 1 is the level that prepares you for Trust Level 2, at which you will be able to create topics, and get your words out to the whole community for Tranchess development.
To get to Trust Level 2, a tl1 user needs to meet the following criteria:
- Entering at least 20 topics;
- Reading at least 100 posts;
- Spending a total of at least 60 minutes reading posts on the forum;
- Replying to at least 3 different topics;
- Visiting the forum for at least 15 days. It doesn’t have to be sequential;
- Casting at least 1 “like”;
- Receiving at least 1 “like”.
Trust Level 2 and above
Trust Level 2 means that you are now trusted with full citizenship of the community. Your active participation and consistency showed that you care about the project. Together with tl1 users, you represent the main thoughts and ideas of the Tranchess community. Tl2 users should understand the forum as much as they understand the Tranchess product. We encourage all tl2 users to create topics properly. Explain yourself clearly so the community understands you and can respond back with useful posts. Please make sure to restrict the content of your topics to “Tranchess-only”, as there are already more than sufficient social platforms out there that suit the other needs. Trust Level 2 users cannot create topics in the Proposal category just yet.
Over a period of months, the most active readers and contributors would be promoted to Trust Level 3. Trust Level 3 users help tidy up and organize the community. They listen to the community, communicate with the protocol development team, and draft up proposals that meet the long-term needs of all parties. The promotion of Trust Level 3 is observed over a period of 100 days, during which:
- Users should have visited at least 50% of the days;
- 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 or silenced in the last 6 months;
Users can lose the Trust Level 3 status if they dip below the above requirements, unlike previous trust levels. This allows the community to be always represented by the ones that understand them the most. There is a 2-week grace period before the actual action, so we don’t accidentally lose any of our trusted community leaders simply because they forgot their login password.
Thank you, and welcome to the Tranchess Forum. Your experience might not start off as a perfect one, but we know that it eventually will be a place where everyone feels at home with your participation and attribution. 