R7S Community Career Levels & Rewards are now live

The R7S community system is expanding beyond simple usernames. Signed-in members can now build a visible R7S career through useful participation across the website, while optional financial support is recognised separately so community status is never something that has to be bought.

Every R7S member starts as a Youth Coach. Reputation can then move the account through Coach, Scout, Head Scout, Assistant Manager, Manager, Sporting Director, Vice President and finally President. President is the highest community level.

The reputation system rewards real participation. Starting a discussion earns 4 points, replying to another member earns 5, posting an FM screenshot or GIF earns 8, a signed-in poll vote earns 3, and following discussions or saving polls adds smaller progression. When an issue report is verified by R7S as confirmed, planned, fixed or added, that contribution receives a 20-point bonus.

Levels are only one part of the identity system. Members can also unlock achievement logos including Contributor, Thread Starter, Community Helper, Community Regular, Media Scout, Voter, Poll Regular, Issue Scout, Fix Finder, Elite Scout, Follower and Poll Keeper. These small logos appear beside the member name in community threads and activity cards so people can immediately see how somebody has contributed.

Supporter recognition is deliberately separate from the football career level. Optional donations do not increase reputation points and do not move anybody closer to President. Completed support instead unlocks its own supporter logo: Supporter from £1 cumulative support, Bronze Supporter from £5, Silver Supporter from £10, Gold Supporter from £20, Elite Supporter from £50, Legend Supporter from £100 and Hall of Fame Supporter from £250.

For signed-in members, the support page now sends the verified R7S account email into Stripe Checkout as a locked email. After Stripe confirms a completed payment, the R7S webhook can associate it with the matching verified account. Previous completed support made with the same verified email can also be associated when the member account is created or verified. The exact cumulative amount remains private; other users only see the supporter tier logo.

The new identity appears across Reddit-style comment threads, Community activity cards and each member's private account dashboard. The account page also shows the current career level, reputation points, progress toward the next level and contribution statistics such as comments, verified issues, media posts and poll votes.

A full public explanation of the ladder and rewards is available from Community → Ranks & Rewards at /community/rewards.

Guest access is not being removed. People can still browse, download, vote and comment without creating an account. The account system simply gives regular contributors a persistent identity and a way for useful participation to be recognised.

The aim is simple: reward the people who make the project better. Research feedback, screenshots, bug reports, replies, voting and constructive discussion all matter. Financial support is appreciated too, but it remains optional and separate from community rank.