For the sake of the community, we have taken some decisive steps regarding the use of the site!
What are these steps?
- Trust Levels
- Limiting your own actions
Trust levels are in operation on the site.
Trust levels:
- trust level 0 (New user)
- trust level 1 (Vaper)
- trust level 2 (Member)
- trust level 3 (Mentor)
The user trust system is a fundamental cornerstone of the site. Using trust levels is a way to…
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Place new users in a so-called sandbox within the community so that they cannot accidentally harm themselves or other users while learning how to use the site. It also protects other users from spam messages and other unwanted actions.
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Grant more rights to experienced users over time to help everyone maintain and moderate the community, to which they generously contribute most of their time.
Trust Level 0 - New User
Basically, every new user starts at trust level 0, meaning they still have to earn trust. These are visitors who have just created an account and are still learning the community norms and how the community works. New users have limited capabilities for security reasons - for their own safety and the safety of the rest of the community members.
(We want to hide all “advanced” features from new users so that the user interface is less confusing for them until they have more experience.)
Users at Trust Level 0 are unable to…
- Send private messages to other users
- Use Chat
- Chat with Gilbert
- “Reply as a linked topic” using the (share) button
- Report posts
- Place more than 3 images in their posts
- Place more than 2 links in their posts
- View external links in public posts
- Place real links in the “about me” field of their profile (we temporarily display them as plain text)
- Mention more than 2 users in their post
- Create more than 3 topics
- Create more than 10 comments
The first posts of new users must be approved by a moderator before they appear.
Trust Level 1 - Vaper
At Vaperina, we believe that reading is the most fundamental and healthiest activity in any community. If a new user is willing to spend a little time reading, we will quickly promote them to the first trust level.
Achieving Trust Level 1…
- Opened (viewed) at least 5 topics
- Read at least 30 posts (comments)
- Spent at least 10 minutes reading posts
Users at Trust Level 1 are able to…
- Use all basic functions; all new user restrictions are lifted
- Click to view external links in public posts
- Send private messages to other users
- Chat with Gilbert
- Use Chat
- Report posts
- Mute other users
Trust Level 2 - Member
Members return to the community consistently over weeks; they have not only read but actively and consistently participated to be fully trusted.
Achieving Trust Level 2…
- Visited on at least 15 non-consecutive days
- Received at least 1 like
- Gave at least 1 like
- Replied to at least 3 different topics
- Opened (viewed) at least 20 topics
- Read at least 100 posts (comments)
- Spent at least 60 minutes reading posts
Users at Trust Level 2 are able to…
- Invite New Users to a specific topic. You can invite new users to participate in the topic using the share button.
- Invite external users to a private conversation, thereby creating a group private conversation.
- View external links in public posts
- Increase the daily like limit (1.5x)
(The like limit increases per trust level)
/ day - Ignore other users
- Advertise in the #buy-sell and #off-topic:marketplace categories
Trust Level 3 - Mentor
Mentors form the backbone of the Community; they are the most active readers and the most reliable contributors for months, or even years. Since they are present on the site most of the time, we can grant them greater trust to help organize and manage the community.
In the last 100 days to achieve Trust Level 3…
- Present on the site on at least 50% of the days elapsed
- Replied to at least 10 different non-PM (private message) topics
- Viewed 25% of topics created in the last 100 days (maximum 500)
- Read 25% of posts created in the last 100 days (maximum 20,000)
- Received at least 20 likes and gave 30 likes *
- May receive a maximum of 5 Spam or Offensive reports on their posts during this time (on unique posts and from unique users, all confirmed by a moderator)
- Has not been suspended or muted
*These likes must originate from a minimum number of different users (1/5th of the number), and a minimum number of different days (1/4th of the number). Likes cannot originate from PMs (private messages).
To achieve Trust Level 3, all of the above criteria must be met. Furthermore, unlike other trust levels, you can lose your Trust Level 3 status. If you fall below these requirements during the last 100 days, you will be demoted to Members. To avoid constant promotion/demotion situations, however, there is a 2-week grace period immediately after achieving Trust Level 3, during which you cannot lose this status.
Users at Trust Level 3 are able to…
- Categorize and rename topics
- Access a secure category visible only to users at Trust Level 3 or higher
- We remove automatic nofollow from all their links
- If a Trust Level 0 new user’s post is reported as Spam by a Trust Level 3 (Helper), the post disappears immediately.
- If a Trust Level 0 new user’s posts are reported too often by Trust Level 3 Mentors, the user is automatically muted, and all their posts are hidden.
- Create their own wiki post (any user with Trust Level 1 < + can edit such posts)
- Increase the daily like limit (2x).
(The like limit increases per trust level) / day
We believe this trust system will be successful and can lead to a stronger, more sustainable community by carefully empowering Members, Moderators, and Team members alike. But like Vaperina, the trust system will also evolve over time.
We will update this topic when changes occur!
Limiting your own actions
Why can’t you delete a topic or advertisement you created yourself?
Why is your comment deleted only after 24 hours?
Why can’t you simply delete your account?
This all serves the good of the community, the interests of the community!
A community can only remain sustainable if we are able to cooperate with each other and grow by supporting one another.### Why can’t you delete your own thread or advertisement that you created?
When you create a thread, you authorize other users to participate in the discussion about that topic. It would not be ethical to simply revoke this authorization from them, as their replies foster a kind of trust in you, making them at least as much a part of the conversation as you, the creator. As long as no reply has been received for the thread, you have the option to withdraw or delete it. After this, instead of the thread content, the notice (the author deleted the thread) will be visible, and after 24 hours, the thread will also be removed. During this time, the author has the option to restore the thread. Users can view the thread history even for withdrawn but still visible threads.
Let’s take an example regarding this….
You create a thread that has been on the site for months, with continuous activity, hundreds of comments, and discussions taking place under your thread… You decide to delete it, thereby interrupting the many valuable comments, expressions, and discussions that users have created. We cannot allow this! Naturally, if you can provide appropriate reasons regarding the deletion, we will check it, and if we find it justified, we will approve your deletion request.
You must report the deletion of the thread or advertisement to a Moderator with justification by clicking the 
icon!
There are few community-destructive things that would override this. If we allowed this so easily, it would eventually erode user trust!
Why is your comment only deleted after 24 hours?
The same applies to comments.
By posting a comment or reply, you are creating a discussion that, if broken up, might cause all subsequent remarks to lose their meaning. However, you do not need to justify deleting your comment! You can do it anytime, but for 24 hours, a message (the author deleted the post) will remain visible to other users, and they can view the withdrawn post in the history. During this time, the author also has the option to restore their post if they change their mind about the deletion.
Why can’t you simply delete your account?
We take several things into consideration when deleting a user account. This includes, for example, the topics, posts, advertisements, ratings, etc., belonging to that account. If there has been no activity in the user account, the user has the option to delete it. They can do this in the settings on the Account page by clicking the <kbd>Delete</kbd> button.
Understandably, if a user were to delete themselves, they would do so along with all their activity. We cannot allow this in every case, referring to the point above.
However, we cannot restrict the user from leaving the Vaperina Community if they no longer wish to be a member.
In such cases, there are 2 possible scenarios.
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We check the user’s public activity, and if it is not significant and does not harm the community, we fulfill their request and delete it.
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If the user is an active member of the community and has countless useful posts, we transfer these contents to an so-called anonymous user! These do nothing other than retain those posts that do not contain personal content, so that the meaning of the already created discussion remains intact in most places!
You can request the deletion of your user account at the email address info@vaperina.com!
Section regarding Advertisers, Interested Parties, and Advertisements
Naturally, what has been mentioned above also applies to Advertisers and advertisements, but the reason why is slightly different for them.
For them, these questions, points, and regulations serve more of a security role.
If you like, we won’t let potential scammers slip away from the site without a trace!
Marking Advertisements (Sold / Purchased / Traded / Withdrawn)
By marking it, the advertisement enters an archived state. This means that all user operational possibilities cease. Examples include modifying the advertisement, writing a reply, or liking, etc. The advertisement is removed from the email summary and retains the position among the advertisements where it was marked as sold.
Why is it not worth trying to cheat with us?
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If you create an advertisement on the site, you are fully responsible for it and its content (description, images). Therefore, we cannot allow you to simply delete it. Justification and our approval are required for deletion in all cases.
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Trackable modifications. If you change the content of the advertisement (description, images), other users can review these changes. This prevents you from trying to sell something different by just changing the content from what was originally advertised.
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It is not possible for the Advertiser to disappear without a trace from the system by deleting or terminating their user account. Whenever we receive such a request, we review all the user’s previous activity and decide based on that whether we fulfill their request.
We will update the topic as soon as there is a change or addition…