Badge Tiers Explained - Bronze, Silver, and Gold

Badge tiers reflect your changelog's update frequency and recency. Understanding how tiers work helps you maintain your tier level and progress to higher tiers.

What Are Badge Tiers?

Badge tiers are automatically calculated levels that reflect how actively you maintain your changelog. Your tier determines:

• The color of your badge
• The frequency text displayed (when using frequency type)
• Your overall activity status

Tier Levels

Gold Tier

Gold tier indicates consistent, frequent updates. You're publishing in at least 7 different calendar weeks within a 60-day window, and you've updated recently.

Silver Tier

Silver tier shows regular updates. You're maintaining your changelog with updates in at least 4 different weeks within 60 days, and you've updated within the last 3 weeks.

Bronze Tier

Bronze tier indicates your changelog is active but with less frequent updates. You have at least one update in the last 60 days.

Inactive Tier

Inactive tier means your changelog hasn't been updated in over 60 days. Publish a new entry to move back to Bronze tier.

How Tiers Are Calculated

Tiers are calculated using a rolling 60-day window:

• Distinct Weeks - Only one update per calendar week counts toward the week count. Multiple posts in the same week still count as 1 week.
• Recency Requirement - Gold and Silver tiers require recent updates (within 10 and 21 days respectively) to ensure active maintenance.
• Public Posts Only - Only published, non-draft entries count toward tier calculation. Scheduled posts count once they're published.
• Automatic Updates - Tiers are recalculated daily, so your badge updates automatically as your activity changes.

Understanding "Distinct Weeks"

A "distinct week" means at least one public update was published during that calendar week (Monday to Sunday). Important points:

• Multiple posts in the same week = 1 distinct week
• Weeks are calculated using ISO week format (Monday start)
• Only weeks within the last 60 days count
• As older weeks fall outside the 60-day window, they stop counting

Example: If you publish 5 posts all in Week 1, and 1 post in Week 2, that counts as 2 distinct weeks, not 6.

Progressing Through Tiers

From Inactive to Bronze

Simply publish one public (non-draft) changelog entry. Once published, you'll move to Bronze tier.

From Bronze to Silver

You need:

• 4 distinct weeks with updates in the last 60 days
• At least one update within the last 21 days

Tip: Focus on publishing in new calendar weeks. Publishing multiple times in the same week doesn't help you reach Silver faster.

From Silver to Gold

You need:

• 7 distinct weeks with updates in the last 60 days
• At least one update within the last 10 days

Tip: Maintain consistent weekly updates. The key is spreading updates across different weeks, not publishing many posts in a few weeks.

Maintaining Your Tier

Tiers use a rolling 60-day window, which means:

• As time passes, older weeks fall outside the window
• You need to continue publishing to maintain your tier
• If you stop updating, you'll eventually drop to a lower tier
• Gold and Silver tiers require recent updates, so you can't just publish 7 weeks worth and then stop

Tier Evaluation

Tiers are automatically evaluated:

• Daily Evaluation - Tiers are recalculated once per day
• Automatic Updates - Your badge updates automatically when your tier changes
• Cache Refresh - Badge caches are cleared when tiers change

You don't need to do anything - the system handles tier calculation automatically.

Viewing Your Tier Progress

In your changelog settings, you can view:

• Your current tier and color
• Weeks active in the last 60 days
• Progress toward the next tier
• Timeline showing which weeks have updates
• Recommendations for reaching the next tier

Best Practices

• Consistency Over Volume - Publishing in different weeks is more valuable than many posts in one week
• Stay Recent - For Gold and Silver, make sure you update within the recency window
• Plan Ahead - Schedule posts if you know you'll be busy to maintain your tier
• Quality Matters - Focus on meaningful updates rather than just hitting tier requirements

Next Steps

• Badges Overview
• Learn about badge types and styles
• Configure your badge settings