Ranks - HL Vanilla Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>A <strong>Rank</strong> grants or removes specific community privileges (called <strong>Abilities</strong>). They can be <em>manually assigned</em> to a user or <em>earned </em>by fulfilling the Rank's associated <strong>Criteria </strong>(e.g., accruing a set amount of points, contributing a set amount of posts, etc.).</p><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: A Rank is <em>not</em> the same as a <strong>Role </strong>and its associated <strong>permissions</strong>, which govern content access, moderation abilities, and administrator access. See <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/39" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Roles & Permissions</a> to learn more.</p><h2 data-id="ranks-overview">Ranks overview</h2><ul><li>Ranks provide a number of community benefits: they can limit malicious practices by limiting user abilities, publicly identify certain types of users (e.g., MVPs), reward users for participation, or allow veteran users a greater deal of control in your community through enhanced privileges. </li><li>A user can only have one Rank at a time. Typically, the user’s Rank is displayed on their discussions and comments just after their name. If a user has a Title, that is displayed separately, after their Rank.</li><li>Users only receive the highest-level Rank they qualify for. For example, if someone qualifies for Level 5, they will NOT also receive the privileges associated to Levels 1–4. </li><li>There are <strong>seven default Ranks</strong>: Level 1 through Level 5, Moderator, and Administrator. The order of the list matters. In this case, <em>Administrator </em>is the highest Rank because it has the highest <em>Level</em> number and is therefore last in the list. Conversely, <em>Level 1</em> is the lowest Rank.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/6BAZ9SW1Y2MD/default-ranks.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/6BAZ9SW1Y2MD/default-ranks.png" alt="default_ranks.png" height="531" width="1043" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="enable-the-ranks-addon">Enable the Ranks addon</h2><p>Ranks is an optional addon administrators can enable for their <strong>Higher Logic Vanilla (Vanilla)</strong> community. To do so:</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Settings > Addons > Addons</strong>.</li><li>Click the Ranks toggle to turn it ON.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/SR2NQA806OHR/enable-ranks.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/SR2NQA806OHR/enable-ranks.png" alt="enable_ranks.png" height="484" width="1300" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="add-edit-ranks">Add & edit Ranks</h2><p>Generally speaking, you don't want to have too many Ranks. We recommend starting with five, but the appropriate number mostly depends on the size, and specific needs, of your community.</p><p><strong>✔️ TIP</strong>: A best practice is to have special ranks for your Administrators and Moderators so that your users can easily tell the difference between organizational staff and other users.</p><p>To manage your Ranks:</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Settings > Membership > Ranks</strong>.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/1VM197C00EU8/access-ranks.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/1VM197C00EU8/access-ranks.png" alt="access_ranks.png" height="588" width="1126" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>From here, click <strong>Add Rank</strong> to create one or the <strong>pencil icons</strong> to edit one. </p><ul><li>The options used to configure a Rank are described below.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/YKERMVWI12LU/add-edit-ranks.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/YKERMVWI12LU/add-edit-ranks.png" alt="add_edit_ranks.png" height="330" width="942" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="rank-details">Rank details</h2><p>These are the high-level details you'll need to configure for each Rank.</p><ul><li><strong>Name</strong>: The name of the Rank, which is what users will see in the notification they receive when they achieve the Rank.</li><li><strong>Label</strong>: The label is what will appear next to users' names in discussions and comments after they receive the rank. Emojis and HTML can be added as well.</li><li><strong>Level</strong>: Level is a number that determines the precedence of assigning automatic Ranks. <ul><li>For Ranks set to be automatically granted, users will receive the Rank with the highest level that they have met the criteria for. For example, if someone qualifies for Level 5, they will NOT also receive the privileges associated to Levels 1–4. </li><li>If you create a manually assigned Rank and do not want any automated Ranks to overrule it, make sure it has a higher level than all your automated Ranks.</li></ul></li><li><strong>CssClass</strong>: This option is for theme developers. They can assign a valid CSS class to a Rank and it will be applied to the wrapper around their discussion or comment. This is useful for making certain ranked users’ content appear more prominently. For example, if you had an “Expert” Rank, maybe you’d highlight their comments with a special background colour.</li><li><strong>Body </strong>&<strong> Message</strong>: These only appear immediately after a user attains a Rank. The <strong>Body </strong>is emailed to the user (use plain text only); the <strong>Message</strong> appears at the top of the page when the Rank is triggered.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/Q5NAZWVCEBRC/rank-details.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/Q5NAZWVCEBRC/rank-details.png" alt="rank_details.png" height="792" width="830" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="rank-criteria">Rank Criteria</h2><p>A Rank's <strong>criteria </strong>defines how it can be earned. Use these criterion to drive the behaviors you want to see in your Vanilla community. </p><p><strong>⭐️ EXAMPLE</strong>: To help increase engagement, you could limit Ranks being earned to only those who reach a certain points threshold or who contribute a specific number of posts.</p><p>This is also where you control whether a Rank is <strong>automatically </strong>or <strong>manually </strong>assigned.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/0G7J0WTG48ZF/rank-criteria.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/0G7J0WTG48ZF/rank-criteria.png" alt="rank_criteria.png" height="538" width="836" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>You can set thresholds via the following criteria:</p><ul><li><strong>Points</strong>: A user must have accrued the specified number of points.</li><li><strong>Time</strong>: A user must have been a member of your community for the defined duration (e.g., 1 day, 3 weeks, 1 month).</li><li><strong>Posts</strong>: A user must contribute the specified number of posts<strong> </strong>(of any discussion type + comments)</li><li><strong>Roles</strong>: Only users belonging to the selected Role can earn the Rank.</li><li><strong>Permission</strong>:<strong> </strong>There are two options: <em>Moderator </em>and <em>Administrator</em>. Assign the Rank to all users belonging to a Role that has the <code class="code codeInline" spellcheck="false" tabindex="0">Garden > Moderation > Manage</code> permission (Moderator) or the <code class="code codeInline" spellcheck="false" tabindex="0">Garden > Settings > Manage</code> permission (Administrator).</li></ul><p><strong>🛑 IMPORTANT</strong>: You can mix and match these criterion to be as open or strict as you need. Just remember that <em>ALL</em> thresholds you set must be met for the Rank to be earned. </p><p><strong>⭐️ EXAMPLE</strong>: If you set <strong>Points </strong>to 50 and <strong>Posts </strong>to 10, a user must have 50 points <em>and</em> 10 posts to earn the Rank. This system gives you the flexibility to be as open or as strict as you want when it comes to your users earning Ranks.</p><h3 data-id="manually-give-a-rank">Manually give a Rank</h3><p>By default, Ranks are assigned <em>automatically </em>when users meet their associated <em>criteria</em>. However, you can toggle the <strong>Enable Applying Manually</strong> option in the <strong>Criteria </strong>section to make it so the Rank can only be given manually (typically by an admin).</p><p><strong></strong> <strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: A Rank that is set to be manually applied <strong>will no longer be applied automatically</strong>.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/326MKWUXKRGR/apply-ranks-manually-option.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/326MKWUXKRGR/apply-ranks-manually-option.png" alt="apply_ranks_manually_option.png" height="383" width="1020" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>With the above option enabled, let's walk through how to actually give someone the Rank.</p><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: You must belong to a Role with the <code class="code codeInline" spellcheck="false" tabindex="0">Garden > Users > Edit</code> permission to manually give a Rank.</p><ol><li>Access the Dashboard.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Moderation > Users</strong>.</li><li>Click the <strong>pencil icon</strong> to edit a user.</li><li>Click the <strong>Ranks </strong>dropdown and select the Rank to give them. Only Ranks you've set to manual will appear in this dropdown.</li><li>Click <strong>Save</strong>.</li></ol><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/UEZOC2Q7URAI/manually-assign-rank.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/UEZOC2Q7URAI/manually-assign-rank.png" alt="manually_assign_rank.png" height="900" width="1460" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="rank-abilities">Rank Abilities</h2><p>This is where you define what privileges the Rank does or does not provide. Generally speaking, certain abilities are typically removed from lower Ranks while more abilities are given to higher Ranks.</p><p>You can give each ability the value of <strong>give</strong>, <strong>take away</strong>, or <strong>default</strong>. </p><ul><li>The <strong>default </strong>value represents what the user would be allowed to do if the Ranks addon was disabled. </li><li>The <strong>give </strong>and <strong>take away</strong> options do just that: give or remove the associated ability.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/00C1SVZ8B713/rank-abilities.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/00C1SVZ8B713/rank-abilities.png" alt="rank_abilities.png" height="882" width="1026" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: Some abilities are affected by other addons. It’s important to understand your current Vanilla community configuration before changing the default values for abilities.</p><p>For instance, in a default Vanilla configuration, users will not have a “Title” field. Therefore, Ranks’ “default” would be that no one has a Title. However, Profile Extender can be used to add a “Title” field, which would give Titles to all users. In that case, Ranks’ default would be that everyone has a title.</p><h2 data-id="applying-ranks-via-sso">Applying Ranks via SSO</h2><ol><li>When creating or editing a Rank, toggle the <strong>Enable Applying Manually</strong> option in the <strong>Criteria </strong>section to make it so the Rank can only be given manually (typically by an admin).</li><li>Edit a user’s profile and select that Rank or apply it over SSO by adding a matching RankID parameter to the callback.</li></ol><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: This only works for Ranks set to be manually assigned. Also, make sure that no automatically-triggered Ranks have a higher level, or they will override when triggered.</p><h2 data-id="using-ranks-as-incentives">Using Ranks as incentives</h2><p>You can use Ranks as an incentive for users to participate by rewarding them <em>for </em>their engagement.</p><p>What follows is an example of what abilities to grant for levels 1–5. It assumes the default Criteria of 50, 100, 500, and 1000 points for Level 2–5 respectively.</p><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: Gaining points on your site is done through addons such as Badges and Reactions. Users who gain the point levels of the default Ranks have demonstrated their ability to positively contribute to your community.</p><h3 data-id="suggested-abilities">Suggested abilities</h3><p><strong>Levels 1 and 2 </strong>will retain their default abilities, or you can assign them abilities according the <strong>Handling spam or abuse</strong> section below.</p><p>For <strong>level 3</strong>, set the follow abilities.</p><ul><li>Title: Give</li><li>Location: Give</li><li>Me Actions: <em>Deprecated, doesn't affect anything</em></li></ul><p><strong>Title </strong>and <strong>Location</strong> are fields that appear in every comment a user makes, allowing them to display more information about themselves. </p><p>For <strong>level 4</strong>, set the same as level 3, plus:</p><ul><li>Signatures: Give</li><li>Discussion & Comment Editing: Authors may edit for 1 week</li></ul><p><strong>Signatures </strong>are snippets of text or images that a user may add to their profile which will show after every comment they make. You must have the Signatures addon enabled for this to work.</p><p><strong>Discussion & Comment Editing</strong> is something that makes community use more enjoyable for users, but has a high potential for abuse. Therefore, only more trusted members should have longer editing time windows.</p><p>For <strong>level 5</strong>, set the same as levels 3 and 4, plus:</p><ul><li>Content Curation: Give</li><li>Discussion & Comment Editing: Authors may edit for 1 month</li></ul><p><strong>Content Curation</strong> is a feature that interacts with the Reactions addon. The ability to Curate gives the special Reaction <strong>Promote</strong> (if it’s available on your community); this Reaction gives +5 points and puts the post on the Best Of page. This privilege also grants access to the Spam Reaction, which moves a post immediately to your Spam Queue for review by moderators.</p><p>Again, we set a longer <strong>Discussion & Comment Editing</strong> window for our most-trusted and experienced users.</p><h2 data-id="handling-spam-or-abuse">Handling spam or abuse</h2><p>Ranks can be used to limit the ability of spammers to take advantage of your community and protect users from abuse. To do this, limit the abilities of your newest users until they have a proven track record of trustworthiness.</p><h3 data-id="who-is-this-for">Who is this for?</h3><p>This section is for communities that are <strong>currently </strong>experiencing spam problems, and that have already tried other automated filtering solutions, like <strong>Akismet </strong>and <strong>Stop Forum Spam</strong>. Because this solution inhibits new user actions, which can have a detrimental effect, it should be used as a <em>response </em>to issues not as <em>preemptive</em> prevention.</p><h3 data-id="setting-up-ranks-to-inhibit-spam-and-abuse">Setting up Ranks to inhibit spam and abuse</h3><p>What follows is a generalized recommendation for a large, high-traffic community. Please adjust the suggested values to match your community's specific needs.</p><h4 data-id="level-1">Level 1</h4><p>Edit your Level 1 Rank. </p><p><strong>📝 NOTE</strong>: If you’ve previously edited your default Ranks already, instead set a Rank to have level 1 (or any level as long as it is the lowest level) with no Criteria (all fields should be blank.</p><p>Under <strong>Abilities</strong>, set the following values:</p><ul><li>Formatting Posts: Text</li><li>Verified: Force Check</li><li>Post Links: Take Away</li><li>Titles: Take Away</li><li>Locations: Take Away</li><li>Signatures: Take Away</li><li>Discussion & Comment Editing: Authors may never edit</li></ul><h4 data-id="level-2">Level 2</h4><p>For your Level 2 Rank, set some low Criteria. A good recommendation would be a Post total of 5 or 10, depending on the activity level of your site. </p><p>For this Rank, set Abilities:</p><ul><li>Formatting Posts: text, links, and YouTube</li><li>Titles: Take Away</li><li>Locations: Take Away</li><li>Signatures: Take Away</li><li>Discussion & Comment Editing: Authors may never edit</li></ul><h4 data-id="level-3-and-above">Level 3 and above</h4><p>For Level 3, set a higher Criteria like 50 posts or points. For this level (and any higher) you can leave default values or grant additional abilities with the “Give” option.</p><h3 data-id="setting-up-ranks-to-prevent-false-positives-on-spam">Setting up Ranks to prevent false-positives on spam</h3><p>For your higher Ranks, set the Ability “Verified” to “bypass.” This will prevent your trusted members’ content from being evaluated by the spam filter, which means their content will never be put into the spam queue.</p><h2 data-id="additional-resources">Additional resources</h2><p>Click the link below to access a video expanding on what you learned in this article.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"For more information, please see:","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/GXW21TRYG1JP\/share-imagevanilla-community.jpg","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/473","embedType":"link","name":"Ranks [video] - HL Vanilla Community"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/473" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/473 </a> </div><p><br></p> </article> </main>