element14 Top Members are members of the element14 Community who have been recognised for all the great support and expertise they have been providing to fellow members. The Community staff picks members of the Community who are active, helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly.
To be considered being invited to become a Top Member, you should regularly follow these guidelines:
- Be consistently active in the Community
- Be friendly and patient when responding to others
- Demonstrate that you know your area of expertise well
- Help educate other members
- Contribute to forum initiatives regularly
- Provide constructive feedback
- Our criteria for choosing Top Members may change over time as we learn what truly makes a Top Member “the tops.”
What do I get for being an element14 Top Member?
Whether you are passionate about a career in electronics or already an established pro in the field, being a Top Member on element14 Community can help boost your reputation.
Your profile in the Community will be labeled as a Top Member, which helps show the world that you truly are an expert. Other benefits include:
- Sneak peeks to future product & company announcements
- Gain access to private forums with element14 team members
- Access to exclusive RoadTests
- Vote and provide feedback on future features on element14 Community
- Access to exclusive content
- Get a Top Member badge in the element14 Community
These benefits are not contractual, and are subject to availability in your market. Also, they can change anytime.
What rank do I need to become a Top Member?
There is no specific rank requirement for being a Top Member. However, your forum rank reflects your activity and the quality of your content, so if you are on the path to being an element14 Top Contributor, you will probably move ranks pretty fast. We typically select new Top Members from our most active members - we regularly review our list of top point earners to recruit new Top Members.
You can level up by doing the following:
- Posting a blog, video, discussion,
- Having your answer selected as the "correct answer” or "helpful"
- Having a post rated with a star
- Rating a post with a star
- Plus many more (read more about how you can earn points here!)
Once I am an Top Member, can I lose that status?
It is possible to lose your status as an element14 Community Top Member. This is a process we call “Retirement.” Retired Top Members can still continue as forum members, but they just lose the exclusive Top Member perks. element14 Top Members are evaluated every year by the element14 Community staff. In these evaluations, we consider the following:
- How consistently you have been participating in the community
- How well you know your subjects
- Your attitude towards other members and the element14 team
- Your contribution to community initiatives
- Your interactions with the element14 team
If the Community Leads feel like your participation is not at the expected level for an Top Member, they will reach out to you to better understand your situation and see if you should become a Retired Top Member.
Why do people become element14 Community Top Members?
That is a good question. One likely answer is that element14 Top Members are constantly learning more about their subjects. When they interact with the community, they are helping build knowledge that can be applied to their projects.
More questions about becoming a Top Member of element14 Community? Post your question here.