Community Champion Rewards & Program Updates
Hello all! I hope you’re doing well and that your 2025 is off to a great start. I wanted to share some exciting updates we’ve made to the Community, aimed at boosting engagement and giving our Community Champions more ways to contribute and lead. Here are the two key changes: Q1/25 Community Champion Rewards and Promotions have been completed We've updated Champion levels based on Q1/25 activity and contributions, and rewards have been issued. Thanks again for all of your fantastic participation last quarter! Community Champions of all levels can now author technical articles. Previously, only Level 3 Champions had this ability. Now, Champions at Levels 1 through 3 can submit articles for review. Level 3 Champions will continue to have the option to publish directly without needing review. This opens the door for more diverse content and voices across our product spaces. Champions can now mark replies as solutions. To help keep the Community well-organized and up to date, Champions and SmartBear staff can now mark a reply as a solution when a thread has been inactive. This ensures helpful answers are more visible for others searching in the future. There are a few rules in place to guide this: Threads must be inactive for at least 7 days before a Champion or staff member marks a solution. The reply marked as a solution should clearly address the original question or problem. If the original poster or other members disagree, they are free to unmark the solution and continue the conversation. These changes are designed to make the Community more dynamic, helpful, and rewarding for everyone. As always, we welcome your feedback and look forward to seeing even more great contributions from all of you. We also have a bunch of new features and updates for the community in the coming weeks and months, so keep an eye out! Thank you for all of your contributions! You all are an important part of the SmartBear Community! - SmartBear Community TeamCommunity Champions Program Rules
What is the Community Champions program? Community Champions is a quarterly rewards program aimed at rewarding users for consistently posting solutions and resources to assist fellow community members. Users participating in consecutive quarters are eligible for greater rewards and elevated community permissions as described herein. How to participate Register for a SmartBear Community account and verify your email. Join the “Community Champions” group. Earn points by posting solutions, earning kudos, or posting technical articles. Get rewarded! Please note: Only one account per person. (Email addresses and accounts will be vetted.) All users must follow the SmartBear Community Terms of Service. Any kudos, "accepted solutions", or technical articles that violate the rules will warrant an immediate ban from the community and the program. Program and Rules requirements can change at any time. Earning points, rewards, leveling up, and leveling down Each quarter (Jan 1-March 31, April 1-June 30, July 1-Sept 30, Oct 1-Dec 31), you can qualify for SmartBear Community Champion status! If you have earned 50 points during one quarter, congratulations! You are a SmartBear Community Champion! Points will only be counted in the quarter that they are earned and do not carry over from quarter to quarter. The maximum level users can achieve is Level 3. Your status will carry over from year to year if you actively participate in the program each quarter. Leveling up For each sequential quarter you participate in the SmartBear Community Champions program, you move to the next level! (For example, after earning 50 points in your first quarter of participation, you will earn Level 1 rewards. If the next quarter you also earn 50 points, you will earn level 2 rewards, and so on.) Leveling down If you are inactive and/or do not qualify for the next sequential quarter, your rewards will pause, and you will not earn the next level of rewards. Users inactive for two consecutive quarters will lose a level for each sequential quarter of non-participation. (For example, if you are at Level 2 but do not qualify for the next two sequential quarters, you will drop to Level 1 and receive no rewards. If you qualify for the next sequential quarter, you will earn Level 2 status again and rewards. Delicious, delicious rewards.) Please Note: 2023 SmartBear Community Leaders automatically qualify for 2023 SmartBear Community Champion status, and will start the program at Level 2 Earning points You can earn points by participating in discussions, giving valuable feedback, and sharing your knowledge across the SmartBear Community. You will earn: One point for every “kudos” you receive. 10 points for every “accepted solution” you receive. (Note: this excludes posted solutions to your own topics) 25 points for every “Technical Article” you post. (Note: to post a technical article requires Level 3 status and will need to be approved by a SmartBear Community team member.) Please note: All participation, including kudos, solutions, and technical articles, will be reviewed by a SmartBear Community team member. Tracking points You can keep track of your SmartBear Community Champion progress with the gauge in your SmartBear Community profile. Rewards and benefits There are three levels of SmartBear Community Champion status. All Community Champion rewards and statuses will be awarded in the first month of the following quarter. Level 1 – one quarter of participation $50 SmartBear swag credits e-gift card Champion Level 1 badge and rank Ability to publish community technical articles Early access to community beta programs Level 2 – two consecutive quarters of participation $75 SmartBear swag credits e-gift card Champion Level 2 badge and rank Ability to publish community technical articles Early access to community beta programs Community Spotlight recognition Elevated community permissions Level 3 – three or more consecutive quarters of participation $100 SmartBear swag credits e-gift card Champion Level 3 badge and rank Ability to publish and approve community technical articles Early access to community beta programs Community Spotlight recognition Elevated community permissions Invitation to community feedback sessions Purchasing items from the SmartBear Swag Shop To purchase items from the SmartBear Swag Shop visit https://swag.smartbear.com. Your credits will be issued to the email address linked to your SmartBear Community account. To access them, simply log in or create an account at the SmartBear Swag Shop here: https://swag.smartbear.com/account/login. Once logged in, the credits will automatically appear in your account profile and can be viewed in the Swag Bucks widget. Please Note: Swag credits do not expire. SmartBear Swag offerings may vary seasonally. Contact the Community Team If you have any questions or comments, we love to help! Don't hesitate to reach out to us at team@smartbear-community.com.Champion status gauge and badges are back!
Hey all! Great news! 🎉 We've added the Community Champion Gauge back to your user profile page. Now, tracking your Champion status is easier than ever! The gauge is available to all users. We’ve also reintroduced Champion Level Badges to your profile too! Check out your profile now and see where you stand![Announcement] Q4 2024 Rewards Issued & Exciting SmartBear Hubs Launch!
Hello Champions! 🌟 We’re delighted to inform you that the Q4 2024 rewards have been distributed to all eligible members. Your unwavering dedication and invaluable contributions continue to elevate our community, and we sincerely appreciate your efforts. In addition to celebrating your achievements, we have some thrilling news to share! SmartBear has officially launched Hubs, which is designed to revolutionize software quality and accelerate high-quality delivery. Introducing SmartBear Hubs: API Hub: This hub integrates robust tools to streamline the API development process, enabling teams to design, test, and scale APIs effortlessly. Insight Hub: Empower your development teams with enhanced observability, providing end-to-end visibility to build better user experiences. These hubs are powered by HaloAI, SmartBear's advanced AI-driven technology, which automates repetitive tasks and enhances productivity across the SDLC. We encourage you to explore these innovative hubs and see how they can further support your development and testing endeavors. Thank you for being an integral part of our community and your continued commitment to excellence. Best regards, Doug 😊
Introduce Yourself!
Hi Champions! Thank you for being a part of the SmartBear Community Champions Program. We really appreciate your contributions, this community would not be the same without you! I’m a UX researcher at SmartBear and new to the Champions Program — I’d love to get to know you. If you have a few minutes, please fill out the survey below and tell us about yourself! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DH6Z6WF[Announcement] Q3 2024 Rewards are Here!
👋 Hello Champions! 🌟 Great news – the rewards for Q3 2024 have been issued! 🎉💰 Your contributions continue to make our community thrive, and we can’t thank you enough for all your hard work! 💪 Don't forget, you can rack up points by staying engaged: every like on your post earns you 1 point, and if someone marks your post as a solution, that's a whopping 10 points! 🏆 You only need 50 points to unlock the rewards and level up in the program. 📈✨ For a full breakdown of the rules and ways to earn points, check out the Community Champions Program Rules. 📜🔍 Thanks for being an essential part of what makes our community amazing! 🌟🙌 Cheers, Doug 😊[Announcement] Q2 2024 Rewards are Here!
👋 Hello Champions! 🌟 We're thrilled to announce that the rewards for Q2 2024 have been issued! 🎉💰 Your dedication and hard work are truly appreciated. Keep pushing forward! 💪 Remember, you need 50 points to unlock the rewards and level up in our program. 📈✨ For more information on how to earn points and advance through the ranks, please refer to the Community Champions Program Rules. 📜🔍 Thank you for making our community awesome! 🌟🙌 Cheers, Doug 😊Roadmap portal (Zephyr Scale)
Hi, I'm wondering when we can expect to see some activity on the Roadmap portal for Zephyr Scale. I've posted numerous ideas to the board (as have others), but it seems the portal has not been updated since it was launched early this year. I've seen one post in the community questioning the value in submitting ideas as a result of non-update and I'm thinking the same also - I can't even tell what ideas I've submitted because there's no way to do that. It feels like this is not being owned and loved. My wish is that the portal is updated on a quarterly basis, but at least half-yearly. What would also be useful is a link/button on community post screens where users could submit ideas to the portal (with auto-login). I'd suggest this on the Roadmap portal, but I think you know what I'm going to say :) Thanks for listening. Andy
Community Champions
13 Posts
