Where is that extra category for forum moderators?

There’s been a few mentions here and there of a forum category for moderators and users at trust level 3. I want to know where it went. Here’s what I managed to track down (and believe me, it was not easy. I had to go all the way to the main Discourse site!)

The brief description of the Regular badge states:

You can now recategorize and rename topics, take advantage of more powerful spam flags, access a private lounge area, and you’ll also get lots more likes per day.

The Understanding Discourse Trust Levels blog post, linked to in multiple places, says this:

Upon transition to trust level 3, users are sent a longer form PM describing their new abilities and inviting them to the lounge category to meet their fellow TL3 community members.

And this:

Users at trust level 3 can…

…Access a secure category only visible to users at trust level 3 and higher

Here’s what I found in the Discourse Moderation Guide:

The Lounge: The lounge is a default category on all Discourse installs restricted to users TL3 or above. The lounge is a great place for the moderator team to communicate with the site’s trusted users. These users should be encouraged to share their thoughts and concerns with the site staff within this category.

And @astra_the_dragon says:

So, where did it go? If somebody stole it, please give it back. I’ve been a Regular for months now and I want some privileges!

1 Like

It’s an optional setting offered by Discourse and has never existed for users at level trust level 3 / “Regular” on this forum.

1 Like

Discourse said it was default, so why was it turned off? Seems like a cool idea to me.

I don’t think it’s a good idea. The discussions here are already dominated by a few dozen people, and having a specific area where new users are not only possibly intimidated from participation, but actually banned, would in my opinion create a less diverse, and thus worse, discussion board.

If Regular users were given some extra abilities, then maybe having a category similar to #curators would be warranted.

7 Likes

It’s not about excluding people, or intimidation. It’s about a space where you can converse, knowing that the other participants have been around in the forum long enough to have learnt the basics and have a rudimentary understanding of the issues that have been previously raised in the forums … ie regulars!

There would be no one that would be excluded from the ability to earn access to that group, apart from conduct that would have you excluded from both. It’s akin to a senior’s room at a highschool…

2 Likes

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.