The Skill Wheel is a visual summary of a participant’s progress through the Community Support Program. The more skills and abilities demonstrated through their contributions here on Meta, the more sections of the wheel they accumulate. To attain a badge at a particular level a participant must achieve 5+ sections of the associated level.
Examples:
Each area is comprised of these modules:
| Area | Enthusiast | Advocate | Expert |
|---|---|---|---|
| core features |
 Has demonstrated a good knowledge of basic Discourse features Can advise on standard configuration options |
Has displayed proficient knowledge of a broad range of Discourse core features Can advise on advanced configuration options |
Has shown exceptional knowledge of the core Discourse features Can advise on multiple, complex core configuration options for a wide variety of Discourse use-cases |
| extra features |
Has demonstrated a good knowledge of popular Discourse themes, theme components, and plugins Can advise on associated configuration options |
Has displayed proficient knowledge of a broad range of advanced Discourse themes, theme components, and plugins Can advise on associated configuration options |
Has demonstrated exceptional knowledge of a broad range of official Discourse customisations Can advise on configuring multiple, complex Discourse customisations across a diverse range of use-cases |
| reports |
Is familiar with the core Discourse Dashboard reports Has knowledge of Discourse data-explorer and can find and link to appropriate existing queries when offering support |
Can create accurate SQL queries for data-explorer |
Has the ability to create complex SQL queries for data-explorer |
| community |
Is familiar with standard Discourse onboarding and moderation functions, and when to appropriately apply them |
Has knowledge of community-building and engagement strategies, and can offer advice accordingly |
Has a proven ability advising on community building, engagement, and moderation techniques across a wide range of community styles |
| development |
Has knowledge of basic Discourse development concepts Is familiar with basic development tools Can apply simple changes using theme components |
Has created functional Discourse customisations |
Has demonstrated the skills to build complex Discourse customisations |
| bugs |
Has demonstrated the ability to report and replicate Discourse bugs with clear reproduction steps |
Has a proven history of competently reporting and replicating Discourse bugs with clear reproduction steps and error logs |
Has shown exceptional skills at reporting and replicating Discourse bugs |
| documentation |
Is familiar with Discourse documentation, and can find and link to appropriate guides when offering support |
Has a comprehensive awareness of a broad range of Discourse documentation Has demonstrated the ability to accurately create, validate, and revise Discourse documentation |
Has exceptional knowledge and awareness of a significant range of Discourse documentation Has shown the ability to accurately create, validate, and revise a wide range of Discourse documentation |
| migrations |
Can use existing scripts and documentation to migrate data into a Discourse forum Can offer advice on standard migration techniques |
Has shown proficiency in adapting migration scripts Can advise on adapting migration scripts |
Has experience in creating bespoke, complex migration scripts |
| self-hosting |
Has used the standard install guide to create a functional self-hosted Discourse instance Can advise on basic standard install issues and server maintenance |
Is familiar with a broad range of sysadmin tasks and configurations |
Has a deep understanding and experience of configuring and trouble-shooting advanced Discourse installations |