You can earn roles as you participate on YLF. These roles are represented by badges that you will see on your profile page and below your profile picture in blog comments, forum posts and store reviews.

There are unique roles associated with the different parts of YLF:

You can hold multiple roles at one time.

Roles are based on points that you earn. There are two ways to receive the points that add up to a role:

1. Your activity on the site and
2. The appreciation of other members

Activity Points

These points are calculated automatically as you participate. Here are the specific activities that generate points:

• Blog Comments: you commented on a blog post
• Blog Posts: you wrote a blog post
• Hot Topics: your forum conversation got more than 20 replies
• First Replies: you were first to reply to a new forum conversation
• Reviews: you reviewed an item in the YLF Store or YLF Books
• Mobile Posts: you posted or replied to a post from your phone
• Photos: you uploaded a photo with one of your posts
• Realtime Help: you replied to a realtime request within 10 minutes

Appreciation Points

You can give appreciation points to people who reply to conversations that you start in the forum. Here are the types of appreciation points that you can give and receive:

• Comedy: for a post that is funny
• Therapy: for a therapeutic post
• Wisdom: for a post that shows deep understanding
• Boost: for a post that boosts your confidence
• Solution: for a post that solves a practical problem

Note that only full members and veterans can give appreciation points to other members. You can read more about member levels here.

From Points to Roles

You will earn roles as your activity and appreciation points accumulate. Here are the number of points you need for each role:

Roles are always calculated for the last 30 days, so they will fall away over time if you are not active on the site. You can earn permanent roles though.

Permanent Roles

In addition to the roles that you earn for your activity over the last 30 days, you can earn permanent roles. These are harder to get, but once you have them you keep them forever.

One important thing to know about permanent roles is that you need 2 of them to reach the Veteran membership level.

Permanent roles you earned that you don't currently have as a current role are faded when they appear next to your profile picture.