This is a reworking of the Trusted User section of the FAQ, expanded to include some of the pedantic stuff we try to politely include in responses to the "Where Did My TU Status Go?" queries we find in the old tech mailbag.
It's a little long, and I'm tempted to cut out the "familiar users" bits, but I'll just drop it as is for now, and let the few of you who aren't already snoring comment on it, if you so desire.
- What are Trusted Users (TUs) and Trusted User Status (TU Status)?
The software that the site runs on has a formula that takes a user's mojo (see: Rating Comments) and some other variables, does a bit of calculating, and emits a "yea" or a "nay". This calculation is performed automatically for all users; those who pass are granted Trusted User Status (TU Status). This process is completely automated; TU status is conferred by a computer, not by the site's owners or administrators. A user with Trusted User Status is called a Trusted User (TU).
Compared to regular users, Trusted Users have a few additional privileges that allow them to take their small part in the site's community comment monitoring system. A regular user can give comments a "recommend" rating; a TU can also bestow a limited number of "hide" ratings per day. If a comment gets enough hide ratings, it becomes hidden to regular users. TUs can, if they wish, see comments that have been hidden. TUs thus have the responsibility of deciding whether comments should be hidden or not (See also: Dealing with trolls)
In addition, TUs can edit and remove tags from diaries; regular users can only add new tags.
- So, how much mojo do I need to get TU status?
To prevent people from gaming the system, the exact amount of mojo required and the precise nature of the other variables that go into the formula are not made public.
- How do I know if I have TU status?
There are two easy ways to tell if you are a TU. First is to look at the Tools sidebar; if there is an entry reading 'Hidden Comments', you are a TU. The other way is to try to rate a comment; if there is a 'Hide' button next to the 'Recommend' button, you are a TU.
- I had TU status but now it's gone! Is there a bug in the system? Did the admins take it away?
One of the additional factors that goes into determination of TU status is time. If a user stops commenting, or their comments stop getting recommendations, eventually that user will lose TU status. A recent hiatus in a user's commenting can also result in the loss of TU status, even when the user in question has many recent, highly rated comments.
It's also possible you've been banned; this is rare for Trusted Users, but can happen.
- OK, so how do I get my TU status back? How do I keep it from going away again?
TU status can be regained by exactly the same means whereby it was acquired in the first place: by posting more comments that garner recommendations. TU status is best maintained by the slow, steady production of recommendation-worthy comments; users who comment sporadically will likely see sporadic TU status as well.
- I am quite upset about my loss of TU status!
You really, really shouldn't be. If you can't see hidden comments, that's probably to your benefit; almost all of them are going to be a waste of your time. If you can't vote to hide a comment you find objectionable, don't worry about it-- there are plenty of users who can, and most likely lots of them will share your objection, and the comment will be dealt with.
In the unlikely event that you find yourself emotionally attached to TU Status, or bereaved at its loss, you may benefit from a brief meditation on the next, quasi-mystical question:
- What is TU Status not?
"Trusted User Status" is frequently misinterpreted. It is worth keeping in mind that it:
- is not an indicator of status, popularity, importance, or similar concepts. The meaning of "status" in "Trusted User Status" is a purely informational "either/or," with no social connotations. If one user of the site might view another user as having any sort of social "status" on the site, TU will have nothing to do with it, because a user's TU Status, or lack thereof, is not visible to other users.
- is not an indicator of trust. Users can say all sorts of interesting and amusing things in comments without gaining the actual trust of other users. Mojo is not a measure of trust, it's a measure of amusement, interest, attention -- if we had to use one word to summarize the whatever-it-is that mojo measures, it might be "familiarity". A user with high mojo is more analogous to someone you notice on the bus every couple of days with nice shoes or a funny hat, and less analagous to a relative stranger who you might feel comfortable asking to watch your stuff while you use the restroom.
- is not simply a reflection of average comment rating (i.e., mojo). As explained earlier, mojo and TU status are not equivalent-- there is additional data that goes into the TU formula, mostly related to time. Mojo is a reflection of the ratings a user's comments have received; TU also factors in when the comments were made.
- OK, so if Trusted User Status doesn't indicate trustworthiness, and it doesn't indicate status, then why is it called that?
Uh, because that's what it's always been called? Also, it's a bit of a mouthful to say "Users Familiar Enough to Take Part in our Community Self-Monitoring System", and UFEtTPioCSMS is a crummy acronym. And "Familiar Users" is a no-go, obviously. And why do you drive in the parkway, and park in the driveway, eh? Not all names are good descriptions of the underlying thing, particularly when it's left to software engineers to come up with the names.