Requirements for Each Specialty Level
Note: This User Tip will no longer be maintained, as Apple Support Communities staff have now added the information in this tip to their tutorial.
You may have noticed that many users have an icon below their avatar, such as an iPhone icon or MacBook icon, with 10 dashes underneath, like this:
This represents their "Specialty level," which you can learn more about by clicking here. Specialty icons can indicate a member's area of interest, and if a member has a high specialty level in a particular forum, then it shows that they likely have experience in that area.
This User Tip will focus on the requirement for each specialty level. The community hosts ask that you just use the forums as you would naturally, meaning do not post replies, click "I have this question too," and so on just for the sake of gaining a specialty level. Now, to the point, below are the requirements for each specialty level. You can see the requirement for a specialty level by clicking on someone's username, then clicking on a forum name under the "Specialties" section in the pop-out window, but I thought it would be easier if they were all collected here so you do not have to find someone for each different level.
| Level | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Bookmark a discussion Create a new discussion on something you'd like to know about Mark another member's discussion as "I have this question too" |
| Level 2 | Create a new discussion Insert an image into your discussion Mark another member's reply as "This solved my question" Follow a discussion Reply to a comment on your discussion |
| Level 3 | Your discussion is marked as "I have this question too" Reply to another member's discussion (2x) Another member replies to your discussion Your reply is marked as Helpful |
| Level 4 | Reply to another member's discussion Your discussion is marked as "I have this question too" Bookmark a discussion (2x) Follow a community area Your answer is marked as Solved for another member's discussion |
| Level 5 | Reply to another member's discussion Insert an image into a discussion (2x) Follow a discussion Your reply is marked as Helpful (3x) |
| Level 6 | Your answer is marked as Solved for another member's question Your reply is marked as Helpful (5x) |
| Level 7 | Report a post (5x) Another member replies to your discussion Your reply is marked as Helpful (5x) Your answer is marked as Solved for another member's question |
| Level 8 | Reply to another member's discussion Report a post (3x) Your reply is marked as Helpful (5x) |
| Level 9 | Your User Tip is liked Your reply is marked as Helpful (5x) Your answer is marked as Solved for another member's question (5x) Report a post |
| Level 10 | Your reply is marked as Helpful (5x) Your answer is marked as Solved for another member's question (10x) Report a post (5x) |
Some other quick notes:
- You can have multiple "specialties," but the one that displays below your avatar will be the one with the highest level; if there are two or more that are all the highest level, then the one attained most recently will be displayed
- You may notice that different levels may have some of the same requirements. You must complete the same requirement again to advance in level, unless that requirement already has a check mark next to it
- To view your progress on your current specialty levels, click on your username or avatar where it appears in blue at the top left of any Discussions page, or at the top of any post you make. In the pop-out window that appears, under the "Specialties" header, click on a forum name to see your progress for that forum's specialty level
- No specialty icon will appear below your avatar until you complete at least one of the Level 1 requirements for a particular forum. One of the gray dashes will turn blue once you complete Level 1, and then one more dash will turn blue for each additional level you attain
- Reporting a post requires a Level 2 or higher reputation level, which is different from your specialty level. Likewise, creating a User Tip requires a Level 5 or higher reputation level
