madness? this... is... CUL!!!
Anyone who has visited the Xbox.com Forums may have noticed a little number next to everyone's name, known as "CUL" or Community User Level. A poster's CUL level is an at-a-glance indication of how often a user posts on the forums, and, in most cases, how much of a contribution they've made to the Xbox community.The majority of posters will be in the range of 1 through 5. These levels can often be reached on post count alone. Beyond this, are the "super-CULs", 6 through 9 (though CUL 9 is somewhat of a rarity, and hasn't been spotted in the wild for some time). Many who have achieved these higher levels (including yours truly) will tell you that the hardest leg of the journey was the jump from CUL 5 to CUL 6, known as the CUL glass ceiling.
Over and above the superCULs are the letter CULs, Moderators, Xbox MVPs, members of the Xbox product team, Xbox.com Contributors, game Developers/publishers, members of the Press, and finally, official representatives of Xbox Support. Posters can also earn individual badges or icons. As you can see, I've been awarded the Xbox Ambassador icon, the FAQ writer icon (for my work on the Shadowrun FAQ and Achievement Guide) and the On-topic icon (for trying to keep posts on topic). Other icons can be viewed here.
CUL is a mysterious beast, and is based on many things. While post count does come into play, there is a lot more at work behind the scenes. It is believed that how people "rate" your posts is a factor. Furthermore, helpful posts may attract the attention of moderators or other letter CULs and be nominated for a "CUL boost". Derogatory, inflammatory, or off-topic posts may incur the wrath of the mods, resulting in a "CUL deduction". These can come in the form of entire levels, or incremental pushes/pulls (Just for the record, you may have noticed that my CUL is back to "lucky 7" - this was not due to any negative action on my part).
The good folks down under at XboxOZ360-gamer have prepared a handy guide with excellent tips on raising one's CUL while contributing in a positive manner to the Xbox community. They even included some of my advice regarding breaking CUL glass ceiling which I will conclude with -
Don’t Panic!
xenocidic wrote: if you’ve been stuck at five for what seems like an eternity,… and you’ve been posting helpful stuff for as long as you can remember,… and you’ve done your best to cease all flaming, off-topic tomfoolery, and feeding of the trolls,…. and you still can’t hit that CUL 6?!
don’t get discouraged. just stay on target. there was a time when I thought I would never hit CUL 6, but eventually, the glass broke, and then the floodgates were unleashed.
I think the mods have been putting a more concerted effort into CUL adjustments the past several months, as we’ve seen a flurry of activity in terms of promoting. Just keep doing what you’re doing and remember: you are defined not by a number, but by your actions.
Nice little read there and sums up CUL in only a few lines, nice work xenocidic :D
Lucky I'd immortalised the guide on XboxOZ360-Gamer before it vanished from the boards...
And don't worry, you'll be back at CUL 7 in no time!
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Hey mate, thanks for the mention in your site . . just one thing, could you change the title of the site to XboxOZ360-gamer . . . rather than the Xbox OZ 360 please . . . We certainly hope nothing we did contributed to any lose in CUL btw . . ??
We'll drop your sit eon our Blogroll as well . . . hope that helps in getting some traffic your way . . .
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Thanks for the tips have been trying to get my user level up for ages even if I could get to level 2 but there seems to be no progress
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Thanks DarkArmada. I thought it was needed after both litheon's and your faq went *poof*. and good thinking backing it up.
@Grant, sure thing - done. and no, it had nothing to do with anything anyone (including myself) did - don't worry.
@Doc, level 2 should come based on post count alone, just make sure you aren't engaging in open flame warfare and you should be ok =).
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Nice article. I like the part about not giving up and the "glass ceiling", because it seems like I've been a little long loitering on CUL 5, when I visit the 'Unanswered' column everyday.
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Great write-up Xeno. I guess I'll head over to 360OZ and read through the entire thing, but Its refreshing to know Im not alone on this glass ceiling. Sure, CUL doesnt mean much if anything in the grand scheme of things, but after years of attempting to make worthwhile posts...its always nice to see that its been noticed.
btw, first time checking out your site, fantastic job. really
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Thanks SiK.
Yep, I would highly recommend the 360OZ article - many good tips to help you break through.
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