Everything you do to help the community earns points. Points move you up through four levels, and each level raises the points you earn from everyday participation. The higher levels also require contributions that other people have recognised, so you can't reach them through volume alone.
Levels
A recognised contribution is any of the following:
- your answer to someone else's question, accepted by its author or a moderator,
- an answer verified by the Vultr team,
- a featured project, which counts as 3.
A major contribution is a Vultr-verified answer or a featured project, which again counts as 3.
Submitting a project or completing a challenge earns points, but it doesn't count as a recognised contribution.
The everyday points bonus only applies to the points listed under "Everyday participation" below.
Ways to earn
Getting started
The onboarding checklist is worth 250 points with a Beginner challenge, and more with a harder one. Your challenge and project steps are ticked off when you submit, but their points arrive only once each is approved. So finishing the checklist leaves you on 140 points, and you become an Explorer when your first challenge is approved.
Each step pays once. Your profile and the video are ticked off as soon as you finish them.
The first two steps are setup, and they're the only steps that pay onboarding points. The last three are real contributions, so they pay their normal rewards: the first-time bonus for your first discussion, the challenge's own points for your first challenge, and the project payout for your first project. Nothing extra is added.
Any discussion counts as your introduction, but the Introductions category is a good place to start. Any challenge counts too, and Beginner challenges are open to every level.
Everyday participation
Your level bonus is added to these amounts and rounded to the nearest whole point. For example, an Ambassador's discussion post earns 38 points instead of 30.
Recognition for your answers
These pay a fixed amount once per answer. The level bonus does not apply, and they don't count toward the daily limit.
A single answer can earn all three.
Projects
Sharing a project earns a small thank-you. Getting it featured is the real recognition: it pays far more, and it counts toward the higher levels.
A project earns its submission points once it passes review, not when you submit it. You can earn submission points for up to 5 projects each calendar month (UTC). Projects past that still go live, they just don't pay. A featured project pays its featured points once, even if it's featured again later.
Challenges and events
These pay a fixed amount, and they don't count toward the daily limit.
A challenge's points are set by its difficulty. Each challenge pays once, when your submission is approved, and you can enter each challenge once. Each challenge and event page shows its points and any entry requirements, such as a minimum level or attending a linked event.
Event points are awarded once per event, after your attendance is confirmed. An event run as a challenge pays through its challenges instead.
Badges
Some badges carry a small points bonus of up to 50, which is shown on the badge itself. Each badge pays its bonus once. Badges don't count as recognised contributions.
The daily limit
Everyday participation can earn up to 250 points per day. The day resets at 00:00 UTC.
- Onboarding counts toward the limit. The setup steps and first discussion use 140 of that day's 250 points. That leaves 110 points of room for other posts and comments. Challenge points never count toward the limit.
- Your firsts and setup steps are always paid in full. Your first discussion, your first comment, and the two setup steps pay in full even if you've already reached the limit.
- The limit is calculated before your level bonus, so the bonus always adds on top of it.
- An action that would take you past the limit earns nothing. For example, with 245 points earned today, a 10-point comment earns nothing, but a 5-point upvote still fits.
- Nothing is ever blocked. After you reach the limit, you can keep posting, commenting, and receiving upvotes. Those actions just stop earning points until the next day.
- Recognition, projects, challenges, events, and badges don't count toward the limit.
Fair play
- Voting on your own content earns nothing. Each member's upvote counts once per post or comment.
- Your own upvote doesn't count toward the 3 needed for a helpful answer.
- If a project is rejected, taken down, or deleted, or you're removed from its credits, the points it paid you are normally removed.
- Moderators can remove points that were earned in breach of the community guidelines. Your level is recalculated afterwards, which may lower it.
- Spamming, coordinated voting, or using multiple accounts to earn points may lead to all points being removed and the account being suspended.