What are trust levels and what are they useful for
Trust levels automatically categorize users into reliability tiers based on objective criteria like account age, content quality, and violation history. This enables you to:- Apply targeted moderation policies - Review content from untrusted users more carefully while fast-tracking trusted users
- Implement progressive restrictions - Limit posting frequency or features for new users while giving established users more freedom
- Automate community management - Let reliable users self-moderate while focusing human attention on higher-risk accounts
- Reduce false positives - Use trust context to make better moderation decisions and avoid over-moderating good users
Our specific levels -1 to 4
The system uses six progressive trust levels, from -1 (Untrusted) to 4 (Trusted):Level -1: Untrusted
Accounts with high violation rates- Applied to users with violation rates above 5%
- Suggested permissions: Increased moderation scrutiny, limited posting frequency
- Use case: Users who consistently violate community guidelines
Level 0: New
New accounts with limited privileges while learning community norms- Applied to accounts under 7 days old with minimal content
- Suggested permissions: Standard moderation review, limited posting frequency
- Use case: Brand new users who haven’t established a track record
Level 1: Basic
Proven accounts with demonstrated understanding of community guidelines- Requirements: 7+ days old, 5+ pieces of clean content, ≤5% violation rate
- Suggested permissions: Standard moderation policies, normal posting frequency
- Use case: Users who’ve shown they understand your community rules
Level 2: Member
Established community members with consistent positive contributions- Requirements: 30+ days old, 25+ pieces of clean content, ≤5% violation rate
- Suggested permissions: Reduced moderation scrutiny, access to member-only features, higher posting limits
- Use case: Regular users with a solid track record
Level 3: Regular
Trusted community members with demonstrated long-term positive engagement- Requirements: 90+ days old, 50+ pieces of clean content, ≤5% violation rate
- Suggested permissions: Light-touch moderation, can help with community moderation, reports prioritized by system
- Use case: Long-term contributors who help maintain community quality
Level 4: Trusted
Exceptional community members manually promoted by staff- Requirements: Manual promotion by staff (automatic progression not available)
- Suggested permissions: Minimal moderation oversight, near-moderator privileges
- Use case: Users who have earned special recognition and trust from your team
How trust levels are calculated
Trust levels are calculated using three main factors:Account Age
The number of days since the user first appeared in your system. Older accounts are generally more trustworthy as they represent sustained engagement.Clean Content Count
The number of non-flagged content pieces from the user’s recent activity. The system analyzes the last 100 pieces of content submitted for moderation.Violation Rate
The percentage of flagged content in the recent activity window. Users with violation rates above 5% are automatically assigned the Untrusted level (-1), regardless of other factors.Calculation Process
- The system checks violation rate first - if above 5%, assigns Untrusted level
- For users with acceptable violation rates, it evaluates the highest level where all requirements are met
- Users progress through levels automatically as they meet criteria, except for Trusted (level 4) which requires manual promotion
Customization Options
You can customize several parameters to fit your community’s needs:- New user threshold: Adjust what constitutes a “new” user (default: under 7 days)
- Violation rate threshold: Modify the 5% violation rate that triggers Untrusted status
- Content requirements: Adjust the minimum clean content needed for each level
- Age requirements: Modify the minimum account age for each trust level
Examples of how to use trust levels
Trust levels work best when integrated into your existing moderation workflow:Filters in review queues
Trust levels help you prioritize content in review queues by focusing moderator attention on higher-risk users: The simplest approach is to sort review queues by trust level to handle the riskiest content first. More advanced strategies include: Create priority queues based on trust levels:- High-priority queue: Filter for content from Untrusted (-1) and New (0) users that need immediate attention
- Standard queue: Content from Basic (1) and Member (2) users for regular review
- Low-priority queue: Content from Regular (3) and Trusted (4) users that rarely needs intervention
- New User Queue: Only show content from users with trust level 0
- Trusted User Escalations: Only show flagged content from trust level 3+ users (likely false positives)
- Violation Pattern Queue: Combine trust level filtering with specific violation types to catch concerning behavior early
Automated Moderation Rules
Incorporate trust levels into your application code to automate moderation decisions:Rate Limiting
Apply different posting limits based on trust level:- Untrusted (-1): 1 post per hour
- New (0): 5 posts per hour
- Basic (1): 15 posts per hour
- Member (2)+: No limits
Feature Access
Grant access to community features progressively:- Basic (1)+: Can post images
- Member (2)+: Can create polls, access member channels
- Regular (3)+: Can report content, moderate discussions
- Trusted (4): Can pin messages, temporary mute users
How to override trust levels
Sometimes you need to manually adjust a user’s trust level - for example, promoting a valuable community contributor or restricting a problematic user. Manual overrides are available through both the API and dashboard interface. See the next article on updating users for detailed instructions on manual overrides.Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my user still at level 0 (New)?
The most common reasons:- Insufficient content: They need at least 5 pieces of clean content to reach Basic level
- Too young: Account needs to be at least 7 days old for Basic level
- High violation rate: Any violation rate above 5% keeps users at Untrusted (-1) level
How often are trust levels recalculated?
Trust levels are calculated daily and whenever you query a user’s information. The system always uses the most recent data available.Can trust levels decrease?
Yes, if a user’s violation rate increases above acceptable thresholds, their trust level can drop. For example, a Member who starts posting flagged content may drop to Untrusted level. Or if a user is inactive for a long period, they may lose their established status and revert to a lower level when they return.What happens during system updates to the algorithm?
When we improve the trust level algorithm:- Level meanings stay the same: A “Member” will always represent the same type of user
- Requirements may adjust: We might fine-tune thresholds based on data insights
- Your moderation logic continues working: Since level meanings are stable, your existing code won’t break