Every OlderGay.Men profile carries a small badge that gives a quick read on that member's standing on the site. Badges are how we help you see at a glance who you're looking at — without having to dig around for clues.
The tiers you'll see
We can't reliably reach this account. The most common reason is that the email on file is bouncing or that the member hasn't confirmed their signup yet. Approach new connections with this badge the same way you would any brand-new correspondent.
A standard member in good standing. Their email works and they're a recognizable part of the community, but they haven't lit up our other activity signals recently.
A member who's recently been active — logging in, posting on our forum, filling out their profile, sharing photos or stories. The badge you'll see most often on people who are showing up.
Supporters and staff
Members who help run the site or who support it financially carry their own badges in the same spot. They don't replace the tiers above — they stand in for them.
A Patreon supporter at the Fan tier.
A Patreon supporter at the Patron tier.
A Patreon supporter at the Hero tier.
Helps keep the site a welcoming place.
Runs the site day to day.
Want one of the supporter badges yourself?
OlderGay.Men is free for everyone, and a handful of members on Membership keep the lights on. Backers get a Fan, Patron, or Hero badge — and our thanks — at the corresponding tier.
How scores are worked out
Behind the scenes, every non-role account gets a score out of 100 that's rolled up into one of the three tiers above. We don't publish the exact weights (that would make the system easy to game), but in broad strokes we look at:
- Whether the email address on file is working
- How recently the member has been active on the site
- Participation on our Discourse forum
- How long the account has been active (old accounts that have gone silent don't get credit just for being old)
- How complete the profile is — photo, description, location
- What the member has contributed — photos, videos, stories
- How consistently they sign in
If an account's email starts bouncing or gets reported as spam, we reset its badge to Unverified until the underlying issue is sorted out.
Improving your own badge
Badges refresh automatically as you use the site. If yours looks lower than you'd expect, the most useful things you can do are sign in regularly, make sure your email on file is one you actually check, fill out your profile, and join a conversation on the forum.