Tier Progression
Reputation tiers define a publisher's standing in the marketplace — from Bronze (all publishers) through Platinum (elite contributors). Each tier is unlocked by crossing a lifetime points threshold and delivers progressively stronger marketplace benefits.
The Four Tiers
Bronze — 0 to 999 pts
The starting tier for all publishers. Every newly verified publisher account begins at Bronze. There is no application process — Bronze is the baseline that all marketplace participants hold.
- Standard marketplace listing with full package detail pages
- Access to the community Q&A forum
- Eligible to apply for Certified certification
- Standard support queue access
Silver — 1,000 to 4,999 pts
Unlocked when a publisher accumulates 1,000 lifetime points. Silver signals a publisher with real marketplace presence — enough installs, reviews, or certifications to establish credibility.
- All Bronze benefits
- Priority support queue — support tickets resolved before Bronze-tier requests
- Silver badge displayed on the publisher profile and package cards
- Listed as "Silver Publisher" in marketplace filter options
Gold — 5,000 to 19,999 pts
Unlocked at 5,000 lifetime points. Gold publishers have demonstrated sustained marketplace impact across installs, quality reviews, or multiple certifications. Gold is where meaningful visibility benefits activate.
- All Silver benefits
- Featured placement eligibility — packages can appear in curated "Featured" sections on the homepage and category pages (admin-selected from Gold+ pool)
- +10% search ranking boost applied to all packages in the reputation tier component of the search formula
- Gold badge on publisher profile and all package cards
Platinum — 20,000+ pts
The top tier, unlocked at 20,000 lifetime points. Platinum publishers are the marketplace's most impactful contributors — typically publishers with large install bases, multiple certified packages, and active community presence.
- All Gold benefits
- Priority search boost — +15% in the reputation tier search component (replaces the Gold +10% boost)
- Dedicated account support with a named account manager contact
- Platinum badge on publisher profile and package cards
- Eligible for co-marketing opportunities (featured blog posts, announcement channels)
Tier Summary
| Tier | Threshold | Support | Search Boost | Featured Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 0 – 999 pts | Standard | None | No |
| Silver | 1,000 – 4,999 pts | Priority queue | None | No |
| Gold | 5,000 – 19,999 pts | Priority queue | +10% | Yes |
| Platinum | 20,000+ pts | Dedicated account | +15% | Yes |
How Tier is Calculated
Tier is determined by lifetime points — the total of all points ever earned, without any decay applied. This is a deliberate design choice: publishers who have made genuine marketplace contributions are not penalized as their older activity ages.
Once a publisher reaches a tier threshold on their lifetime points total, that tier is permanent. Reputation decay affects the weighted score used for leaderboard ranking, but tier calculation always uses the undecayed lifetime total. A Platinum publisher's tier cannot drop to Gold due to decay.
When a Tier Changes
Tier upgrades are evaluated in real time. The moment a point event pushes a publisher's lifetime total past a tier threshold, the new tier activates immediately — the publisher's badge updates, their search boost activates, and any new benefits (like featured eligibility) become available without requiring any manual action.
If a Certified certification is revoked, the 100 points originally credited are deducted from both the lifetime total and the weighted score. However, if the deduction would bring the lifetime total below the current tier threshold, the tier is NOT reduced. Tier protection applies even to revocation deductions.