This started as a quick post on the mobile app but quickly became much bigger. Let me know if you don’t like the length. 
It seems like the right place to add a trust level
My paraphrase of the OP’s initial idea is that their could be a new trust level between trust levels (TL) 2 and 3. It is called TL2.5 for convenience.
That position is significant because TL0, TL1 and TL2 are achieved by activity without reference to a time period. Whereas TL3 requires a level of activity within a specific time frame. So TL2.5 makes sense in terms of its rank in the trust levels.
For each trust level I’ve summarised the main features released at each trust level and the promotion threshold which is initially automated and measured in days:
Automatic assignment
TL0 has limited posting features with new user restrictions
TL1 has core posting features after 10 minutes active over at least 1 day
TL2 has inviting others after 60 minutes active over 15 days
TL3 has basic topic moderation features after 50 days active over 100 days
Manual assignment
TL4 has complete topic moderation features after manual promotion
There are also staff roles which don’t have trust levels but I have assigned them numbers to denote the progression:
‘TL5’ Moderator can view user info and have no rate limits
‘TL6’ Admin can impersonate users, create user groups and change site settings
But the proposal subverts the trust level structure
Two measures are proposed to promote users to this new trust level:
- their exemplary good behaviour such as kindness, helpfulness which over a longer period of time suggest trustworthiness
- the value of the content they contribute.
The problem is that neither measure directly contributes to the stated purposes of the trust levels.
This proposal would subvert the stated purpose of most trust levels which relate to contributing time spent and gaining experience over time. This time spent/contributed and activity performed leads to a greater role in moderating the forum and hence increasing abilities for that purpose.
So why should users who show no inclination (or ability to find the time) then be assigned a higher trust level?
What additional features would TL2.5 provide?
I am a TL3 user at the moment but I don’t expect to retain it because it was only one well supported post that pushed me over the threshold. Normally, my likes received are somewhat below the threshold.
I’ve grouped the TL3 features into those that might be attractive to a helpful user and ranked them according to those I prefer:
Useful for TL2.5:
-
have all their links followed (we remove automatic nofollow) - useful for bloggers and others wanting traffic or reputation for their own web pages? -
make their own posts wiki (that is, editable by any TL1+ users) - useful for authoritative topics but probably less likely to be posted by an infrequent visitor? Maybe allow their posts to be improved when they are not around to follow the topic? -
access a private "frequent flier's lounge" category only visible to users at trust level 3 and higher - more useful to a regular visitor? -
recategorize and rename topics - again, these users are less likely to create topics?
Not useful for TL2.5
-
spam flags cast on TL0 user posts immediately hide the post - unlikely to spend their time on this? -
flags cast on TL0 user posts in sufficient diversity will auto-block the user and hide all their posts - ditto? -
Daily like limit increased by 2 × - unlikely to hit the limit anyway
If there is no TL2.5 then what would most easily and usefully move to TL2? I think that making their posts wiki would be easiest to move and possibly the most useful. They could leave a post which others can amend and add to when they are not around.
So I would probably propose that the ability to make posts wiki should be moved from TL3 to TL2 instead of creating a TL2.5.
Other ideas about trust levels also suggest evaluating content value and good behaviour
There appears to be a common theme to these proposals: evaluate user behaviour and content. So maybe there is something in this.
Even so, adding the proposed trust level or these other attributes will muddy the simplicity and clarity of the current trust level structure. For this reason alone, I don’t support the proposal unless it comes with a comprehensive reformulation of the stated purposes of the trust levels or an alternative structure to support the new attributes.
That’s why it is worth looking at other discussions about the purpose of Defining trust levels . In that article there were a couple of perspectives that I appreciated which are somewhat similar to the OP here.
@ChrisHanel suggested something which has potential. And if others were to see it as useful then he might be the type of user that the OP is speaking about. In summary, he adds to moderation good behaviour and valuable content and provides a graphic example of how moderation and content could fit together. However, good behaviour doesn’t make it onto the chart.
He proposes:
- your good behaviour
- your value to the community - differentiating between two types of contribution:
- the value of your management or moderation of the forum
- the value of the content you contribute.
Continuing the discussion from Defining trust levels:
@frandallfarmer in Defining trust levels also suggests two measures of user value which can be likened to Chris Hanel’s additional measures:
- evaluation quality which could be likened to good behaviour
- content quality
Personally, I can’t see how content value can be used with the trust levels which emphasize moderation contributions.
The best moderators aren’t always kind and gentle. Likewise, it is easy to find people who are terse and judgemental with others and yet capable of well-drawn technical explanations.