What's in a Name?

[#1]

I posed a question the other day on the Lithosphere asking how many ranks communities are starting with and how many they have now. Take a look at the post if you want to see what people are saying, but the responses started me thinking about what kinds of impacts the different ranks you create have. As a member you can often choose your moniker, but there's something different about a name that is bestowed upon you by others. What turns a rank you hold into more than just a name, to becoming a measure of status and recognition of the value you contribute? And as a community manager, how do you tap into that process?

It's an vital question, because it lies at the heart of those things we try to foster in our communities: increased activity, appropriate behavior, a positive tone. As a community manager, how do you craft a system of ranks that fosters the behavior you want and that members will embrace?

I'll post my own thoughts in the comments, but what do you think? What ranks, titles and names are you known by in different settings? Which ones are you proud of?

[#2]

For me, how a rank turns into an identity is in the journey:

1. Start off with a creative and fun rank names. Make it appropriate for your audience, but make it interesting so people remember it.
2. Make it easy to get new ranks in the beginning so members start to see many different kinds of ranks for other members in the community. If these names are creative too, they'll want to see more and they'll want to try on new ones for themselves.
3. Choose names that are progressive so members can see that some ranks have greater status than others. They will start to be able to tell who has more status on the community, and try to see where they compare.
4. Provide multiple paths for members to succeed. Everyone wants to feel they are doing well, so think of multiple ways they can contribute and build a track they can feel good about. As we've seen in various participation models, not everyone participates in the same way. Celebrate it!
5. Give higher ranks names that reflect the value they represent. It should become clear as you move up the rank structure what behavior members need to adopt to attain higher ranks. Creativity is less important now, these names are more serious. At higher levels members will expect more meaningful status in the community to reflect their involvement. We've seen rank names appear on resumes, so be sure these are names members can be proud of.
6. Leave room to grow. Your members should never feel they have reached the ceiling; there should always be some new rank for them to achieve. Make sure when defining your names that you aren't creating paths that reach the end too quickly.

The secret sauce in your comunity is in the different names, attributes and criteria you choose to engage your members. But you can use this list as framework to start asking the right questions.

With that in mind, what was the best rank name you ever saw or held in a community? Why did it resonate?