New forum syntax guide & details about Trust levels

General Discussion
1

Greetings Heroes of the Nexus!

I am WyomingMyst, and you may know me as one of the forum MVPs but I often post in Overwatch forum community. The Overwatch forums got upgraded to the Discourse forum platform earlier this year and I spend a lot of time posting on the Overwatch forums (with over 15,000 posts between both platforms). The new forum platform is great but there are a few things you should keep in mind when posting on these new forums. I am stopping by to give a handy guide to key forum syntax and features you can expect on the new forum platform.

Expanded Forum Syntax

There is an expanded selection of forum syntax you can use on the new forums. Much of it is available to any user of any trust level (more on trust levels below). In addition to the BBCode syntax we had on the older forums, we can now use a good selection of markdown syntax and HTML tags. I have the entire guide to most commonly used syntax in this section here

click here for Syntax commands

Post in Italics

_Post in Italics_

[i]Post in Italics[/i]

<i>Post in Italics</i>

Post in Bold

_Post in Bold_

[b]Post in Bold[/b]

<b>Post in Bold</b>

Post in Italics Bold

_**Post in Italics Bold**_

[i][b]Post in Italics Bold[/b][/i]

<i><b>Post in Italics Bold</b></i>

Post in Strikethrough

~~Post in Strikethrough~~

<strike>Post in Strikethrough</strike>

Header 1

# Header 1 (note the space between H and the # sign)

<h1>Header 1</h1>

Header 2

## Header 2 (note the space between H and the # sign)

<h2>Header 2</h2>

Header 3

### Header 3 (note the space between H and the # sign)

<h3>Header 3</h3>
Tables Are Cool
col 1 is Left Aligned
col 2 is Center Aligned
col 3 is Right Aligned 
| Tables  | Are | Cool  |
| ------------- |:-------------:| -----:|
| col 1  | is | Left Aligned |
| col 2  | is | Center Aligned |
| col 3  | is | Right Aligned |

HMTL Table formating also works here too! 
(<table>, <tr>, <td>, etc)
[quote]
Posting a Quote block
[/quote]

When quoting a posting in the new forum platform, use your mouse to highlight the text you wish to quote and click the pop-up Quote button. There is no full post Quote button in the post control panel.

Posting a Code Block. Use a code block when typing out large 
amounts of code information.
[code]
Posting a Code Block. Use a code block when typing out large amounts of code information.
[/code]

~~~~
Posting a Code Block. Use a code block when typing out large amounts of code information.
~~~~

Posting a Code Line

`Posting a Code Line`

Use a code line to post a URL as most users will be at “Trust Level 1” or less. Note that Overwatch forum trust levels do not pass over into the BlizzCon forums. Attempting to post a URL without wrapping it will result in an error.

Trust Levels

Trust levels are a participation system on the forums. The more you post, like, reply, read, and visit the forums, the more you work your way to a higher trust level. Increased Trust levels grant additional privileges. Everyone who is new starts off at Trust Level 0 but will quickly climb by reading and visiting the forums within their first few days.

TRUST LEVEL 0

Trust level 0 users cannot:

  • Flag posts
  • Post more than 3 topics
  • Post more than 10 replies

TRUST LEVEL 1

Get to trust level 1 by…

  • Entering at least 5 topics
  • Reading at least 30 posts
  • Spend a total of 10 minutes reading posts

Users at trust level 1 can…

  • Post unlimited topics and replies
  • Edit wiki posts (more on Wiki Posts Below)
  • Flag posts

TRUST LEVEL 2

Get to trust level 2 by…

  • Visiting at least 15 days, not sequentially
  • Casting at least 1 like
  • Receiving at least 1 like
  • Replying to at least 3 different topics
  • Entering at least 20 topics
  • Reading at least 100 posts
  • Spend a total of 60 minutes reading posts

Users at trust level 2 can…

  • Create links and video embeds to trusted websites like Blizzard websites, YouTube, or Twitch
  • Have an increased “like” count.

TRUST LEVEL 3

Get to trust level 3 by…

  • Must have visited at least 50% of last 100 days
  • Must have replied to at least 10 different topics
  • Of topics created in the last 100 days, must have viewed 500 topics
  • Of posts created in the last 100 days, must have read 20,000 posts (both starting posts and replies)
  • Must have received 20 likes, and given 30 likes.
  • Must not have received more than 5 spam or offensive flags (with unique posts and unique users for each, confirmed by a moderator)
  • Must not have been suspended (including forum suspensions or in-game account actions of any Blizzard game)

Trust Level 3 users can

  • Create Wiki Posts (more on that below)
  • Post animated gifs, images, compatible video embeds, and links to any website

I tested on the BlizzCon forums in comparison to my account on the Overwatch forums, and I discovered each game/region will be individually tracked. This means even if you are Trust Level 3 on the Overwatch forums, your forum stats and trust level will be different here.

Other Forum Features

Dev and Blizz Tracker Feeds

Developers will have their own special color now when they post, other Blizzard representatives will still display in Blue. Forum MVPs at this time will not be able to post in their jade green text from before and you won’t have a title displayed yet, something I am nagging on practically every month but the issues behind the matter are… complicated. Now the cool thing about Developer and Blizzard posts is that you can now track for recent posts by clicking on the Dev Tracker or Blizz Tracker feeds. This allows you to see only the developer posts in the threads they post in in a streamlined feed. Simply click on the title of the post to navigate to that thread.

Dislike Button Removed

The old forums had the dislike button which did not exactly do what was intended. The old dislike button was originally intended for posts that were primarily troll posts (eventually hiding them). However, the dislike button was often used to mark a post that the person simply disliked for whatever reason.

Flag a post to alert a moderator

The forum post report form is now gone since you simply flag a post that you believe violates the forum Code-of-Conduct. Simply click the flag icon then choose from one of the four options provided as needed. The post is then flagged for review by a moderator. You have a few minutes to undo the flag if you wish. Note that threads may be automatically locked for 24 hours if they receive enough flags among all posts in that thread.

DO NOT USE THIS FEATURE TO SIMPLY DISLIKE THE CONTENT OF THE POST. To help control unwanted flag spam for the moderators to sift through, all users have a very limited number of flags per day they can issue. So only flag posts that are in violation.

Post Images and Embedded Content

As mentioned before, Trust Level 3 users can post embedded content. To post an image or a video embed of a YouTube Video or a Twitch Clip, Video or Stream. Simply copy the shareable URL of that content in its own line of text. Note that image content that is too large in file size may be prevented from displaying in the page (it used to be 3 MB but I know they have increased it from that).

If you are not authorized to post a link, you will not be able to complete the post with that link in there, however, there is a little workaround. Simply wrap the link between two tick marks (`) to bypass the restriction and a code text line of the URL will display (but is not clickable).

Wiki Posts

Trust level 3 users can change their post to become a Wiki Post. This means once activated as a Wiki anyone can edit it. This can be helpful in making community strategy guides. Simply click the wrench icon on your own post and select the link to turn on the Wiki Post.

ANDROID PROGRESSIVE WEB APP

The new forums are extremely mobile friendly and if you have an Android device, you may be prompted when signing in offering to install a shortcut icon to your Android Home Screen. This will allow you to access the forums outside of your native web browser on your Android device. (This is not a full app by definition and still uses Google Chrome as the underlying browser platform.)

55 Likes
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Hopefully this can get stickied since it is full of goodness :blush:

Edit: Also, thank you for stopping by to share this with us WyomingMyst!

12 Likes
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Indeed, I just wish Trust Level 3 powers were granted across the different games so I could really show what you can do on the new platform. For example, I run discussion threads of key Overwatch League and World Cup matches which are formatted really nice.

4 Likes
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they didn’t stick any of these so far
FeelsBadMan

3 Likes
5

So if I am reading that correctly, it will take 100 Days before we can see any Level 3 posters, right?

3 Likes
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No 50 days for normal users if they visit every day in a row. The exception of course is if a player is manually promoted by a moderator (so far I am one of few exceptions on the Overwatch forums since I am a forum MVP).

Everyone was jelly of my powers for days.

2 Likes
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Okay, that makes sense, since you only have to visit on 50% of the days of the last 100.

1 Like
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Indeed, April 10th on the Overwatch forums was… very interesting. As over 20 frequent posters unlocked TL3 and the image and animated gifs started to pour in. We even have a thread dedicated to providing easy copy and paste code to a variety of Iverwatch related memes:

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/e-international-day-of-non-violence/143402

1 Like
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Thank you for this post, it was very informative.

Question about the suspensions, are they game specific? For example, does a suspension in WoW or Overwatch affect your Trust Levels in HOTS?

1 Like
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So basically all it takes is one suspension and i no longer can pass level 3?

Oh, guess I know now why i couldn’t reach it back in OW forums when i had all the requirements. :frowning_face:

1 Like
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Thank you Wyoming for sharing your awesome guide!!

1 Like
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B O R I N G
This would only be relevant to players that kiss butts, virtually.

I let them kiss my butt IRL, no problem. One day lasts one year.

#VIPass #AfterParty #HouseParty #AfterAfter #AfterAfterAfter #TipOrDie #SweetPhrases #EightBall

6 Likes
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Thanks for your guide :grinning:
It’s time to get My lvl to be able to send pictures :+1:

1 Like
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Yes, work to prove your stupidity to your masters. If you have to work for something or pay for it, or if something is more expensive it’s because it’s good or better.

Just do it.

4 Likes
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I believe it resets the requirements meaning you have to start all over, but I could be wrong.

I am not certain about this.

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I have been banned from the old Overwatch forums 20~ minutes before closing down for taking the goodbye forums too far.

In that case i havent touched the new forums yet therefore i should be completely fresh and i should have started from the beginning right?

Well i had all of these requirements and i unfortunately never reached level 3.

Edit: Just remembered there was a post someone claiming they got silenced in game and they still had level 3 even after the silence, so it could be possible to get it back and not a permanent ban from reaching level 3 anymore.

1 Like
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That’s good, because the silence penalty is automatic and can be falsely issued.

I’ve gotten a few suspensions on the old forums for the most ridiculous things, such as “addressing new players as a group is considered harassment.” I would wonder if those affect me on the new Discourse forums.

I just want the ability to post links and embed media, I really couldn’t care about making wiki’s and posting GIF’s.

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So… I just passed 500 likes received. Does that mean I get a cookie or something??? Oatmeal Raisin please :heart_eyes:

1 Like
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:cookie:

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TBH why haven’t this got pinned yet?