Since discussion forums drive 99% of the content here, I always find it important to discuss policy and cultural changes in some of the major forums. That being said, the official Google AdWords Help forum announced changes to how they rank members of the forums.
They are shifting away from a title name based ranking and onto a level system, with I believe 20 different levels. This mimics the level system used at the other standard Google help forums.
Google's Zuzana Stierankova Moran (aka Zee) announced this in the Google AdWords Help saying:
What is happening?(1) Rank names (Occasional Member, Frequent Member etc.) will be changed to levels: Level 1, Level 2 and so on;
(2) The number of levels for posting members will be increased from 10 to 20;
(3) There will be 2 new levels for members who only read threads and choose not to post.
Why?(1) We've received feedback that it was difficult to evaluate a user's experience in the Community by the rank names. There was no clear way to differentiate a Valued and an Honored Member, for example;
(2) We want to offer more opportunities for members to level up;
(3) It's important for us that members feel recognized by their experience and efforts in the Community!
Let's see how it changes member participation, if any.
Forum discussion at Google AdWords Help.
Image credit to BigStockPhoto for levels
