Reputation points and the Leaderboard

Reputation points — “Rep” for short — are ArtHelper’s way of thanking you when other artists appreciate what you share. This article explains how you earn points, where to see them, how the public Leaderboard works, what your points can unlock, and what happens if your points drop unexpectedly.

Day-0 welcome gift — your first 200 points

Every new artist on ArtHelper receives 200 reputation points on day one as a welcome gift. These 200 points are awarded automatically when you create your account, and they unlock a one-month Human-Made Art badge subscription — giving you immediate access to verification from the moment you join.

What this means for you:

You start with 200 Rep points already in your balance. This is a one-time gift to help you get started in the community.
Those 200 points unlock your first month of Human-Made Art verification. The Human-Made Art badge proves your work is created by you, not AI, and helps you build credibility and trust from day one. Learn more about what the badge does and how verification works in our Human-Made Art verification article.
This is separate from ongoing Rep earning. The 200-point welcome gift is a one-time award. After that, you earn Rep the usual way — through community engagement, likes, comments, saves, critiques, referrals, bounties, quests, and all the other activities described in this article.

Why we do this:

We want every new artist to experience the benefits of Human-Made Art verification right away, without having to wait to earn enough points first. The 200-point welcome gift gives you a head start on building your reputation and credibility in the ArtHelper community.

When you first visit www.arthelper.com/community, a welcome modal called the Credibility Booster appears to introduce you to the Rep system and help you get started earning points.

What the modal contains:

An overview of what Rep is and why it matters in the ArtHelper community.
Quick actions you can take right away to start earning your first points — like posting, commenting, or inviting friends.
A link to this help page so you can learn more about how the system works.

How to dismiss it:

Click the X button in the top corner of the modal, or
Click the Got it button at the bottom.

Will it show again?

No — the Credibility Booster only appears once, the first time you visit the community page. After you dismiss it, it won’t show again. If you ever need a refresher on how Rep works, you can always come back to this help page.

The modal is part of your onboarding experience — it’s designed to help new community members understand how to participate and start building reputation right away.

What reputation points are

Rep is your reputation inside the ArtHelper community. You earn it when other artists like your posts, comment on your work, respond to the help you give, and discover your artwork and profile. Your balance is a running total of the appreciation and attention that’s still standing — it grows as the community responds to you and engages with what you create.

What your reputation points unlock

Reputation points are more than just a number — they unlock real features and opportunities that help you build your presence in the ArtHelper community.

For new members especially:

When you’re new to ArtHelper, your Rep points help close the loop on getting started in the community. As you earn points through posting, commenting, and participating, those points unlock specific features that make it easier to connect with other artists and build your network.

What Rep currently unlocks:

Human-Made Art verification: As described earlier, your first 200 Rep points (awarded as a welcome gift) unlock your first month of Human-Made Art verification. Beyond that, you can use Rep to maintain or renew your verification status.
Connection and follow features: Rep points now gate certain connection features, especially for new members. Your ability to follow other artists, connect with them, and build your network is tied to your reputation standing. This ensures that artists who participate in the community and earn the trust of other members can access the full power of ArtHelper’s networking tools.
Redemption for rewards: Once redemption opens (see the Rewards section below), you’ll be able to spend Rep on portfolio reviews, consultations, subscription months, and other tangible benefits.

Why Rep unlocks features:

ArtHelper uses Rep to reward genuine participation and ensure that the artists who contribute to the community have access to the tools that help them grow. By tying certain features to Rep, we encourage authentic engagement and make sure that connection features are used by artists who are serious about building their careers and supporting others.

As you earn Rep, you’ll find that it opens doors — both literally (through feature access) and figuratively (through the credibility and visibility it gives you in the community).

How you earn points

Other artists earn you points — you can’t award them to yourself. Important: Reputation points are not permanent — they reflect your current standing in the community, and violations or removed content will reduce your total.

You post to the community — Every post you share earns you base Rep points. When other artists react to your post with an emoji, that post earns more Rep for you. The more reactions your post receives, the more points it contributes to your reputation. Posting and receiving reactions is a core way to build your Rep — the community rewards you for sharing work and sparking engagement.
Someone likes your post — 2 points.
Someone comments on your post — 3 points.
Someone likes your comment — 1 point.
Someone saves your post — When another artist saves your community post (whether it’s artwork you uploaded to ArtHelper, a link to external content, or any other post type), you earn reputation points. Saves count as a signal of value — someone found your contribution worth keeping — and they contribute to your Rep score regardless of whether the content is hosted on ArtHelper or linked from elsewhere.
Someone views your artwork or profile — Real human views of your artwork gallery pages and profile page contribute to your Rep score. These are genuine artist visits tracked across all surfaces (gallery pages, profile pages, search results, and community posts) — not bot traffic. View counts update in real-time and feed into your overall reputation.
A friend joins with your invite link — 100 points for every artist who signs up using your personal referral link. When you send a gift invite to a friend, the invite landing page now includes a 24-hour urgency message to encourage immediate signup. The faster your friend joins, the sooner you earn your referral reputation points — so sharing your invite and encouraging friends to sign up right away helps you build Rep faster.
You leave a critique on another artist’s work — When you give thoughtful, constructive feedback on someone else’s artwork through ArtHelper’s critique feature, you earn Rep points for that contribution. Critiques help other artists improve and are a valued form of community participation.
Completing quests — Quests are structured onboarding tasks that guide you through ArtHelper’s features and reward you with Rep points when you complete them. New users especially will see quests appear as you explore the platform — they’re designed to help you learn how ArtHelper works while earning Rep along the way. Some quests offer a first-touch bounty — bonus Rep awarded the first time you complete that particular quest. Think of quests as a guided way to earn Rep while discovering what ArtHelper can do for you, especially useful if you’re just getting started as an artist on the platform.
Completing recurring quests — Some quests reset regularly (daily, weekly, or monthly), giving you ongoing opportunities to earn Rep by completing familiar tasks over and over. Recurring quests are designed to reward consistent participation — if you complete a weekly quest this week, it will come back next week so you can earn Rep from it again. These are a great way to build your reputation steadily by staying active in the community.
Completing one-time and recurring bounties — Bounties are special challenges that reward you with Rep when you complete them. Some bounties are one-time achievements, while others are recurring bounties that come back on a schedule — daily, weekly, or monthly. When you complete a recurring bounty, it resets after its scheduled period and you can complete it again to earn more Rep. Bounties are a fun way to earn Rep by participating in specific community activities or challenges.
Discovering and completing secret bounties — ArtHelper hides secret bounties throughout the platform — hidden challenges you discover by doing something specific. When you find and complete a secret bounty, you earn Rep. The secrets are meant to be discovered naturally as you explore and use ArtHelper, so we won’t spoil what they are here — but you’ll know when you’ve found one, and you’ll be rewarded for your curiosity and exploration.
Completing active bounties — Bounties are time-limited challenges where you can earn Rep for specific actions — most commonly commenting on featured posts. Each bounty has an end date, so you’ll need to complete it before the bounty expires. Some bounties offer multipliers that increase the Rep you earn when you complete the challenge — for example, a 2× multiplier doubles your Rep reward. Bounties may be restricted to certain audiences (for example, only available to artists who have posted in the last 30 days), so not every bounty will be available to every artist. You’ll see active bounties displayed in the Community area where they’re easy to find and complete. When a bounty ends, any Rep you earned from completing it is added to your total and counts toward your position on the Leaderboard. Bounties are a great way to earn extra Rep quickly by focusing your community participation on specific activities ArtHelper wants to encourage.

Liking or commenting on your own posts doesn’t earn points.

Fair play rules

To keep the Rep system fair and meaningful, ArtHelper enforces two important rules:

1. Only real artist accounts earn Rep

Reputation points are awarded only to genuine artist accounts. Internal test accounts, bot profiles, and placeholder accounts used by the ArtHelper team do not earn Rep and are excluded from the Leaderboard and community rankings. This ensures that your reputation reflects real engagement from actual artists in the community.

2. Points are awarded only for new activity going forward

When ArtHelper introduces a new way to earn Rep (for example, a new type of bounty or a new community feature), points are awarded only for activity that happens after the feature launches. Past contributions made before the rule change do not retroactively grant points. This keeps the Rep system fair and prevents sudden, unearned jumps in reputation from historical activity.

These rules help ensure that Rep reflects genuine, ongoing participation in the ArtHelper community — not gaming, automation, or retroactive awards.

Learning how Rep and the Leaderboard work — the wizard walkthrough

Some artists will receive a Sparklink email or text that opens a short, step-by-step walkthrough (called a “feature wizard”) showing how to earn Rep points, where to see the Leaderboard, and how to climb it. This is optional and skippable — if you see it, it’s a quick visual tour designed to teach you the Rep system without overwhelming the main interface. If you don’t see it, you can still use the Leaderboard and earn Rep just fine.

What the wizard shows:

The wizard appears as an overlay with numbered steps and images that guide you through the key parts of the Rep system — earning points, finding the Leaderboard, and understanding how your reputation grows.

How to use it:

Follow the numbered steps to learn how Rep works.
Click through each step to see visual examples and explanations.
You can close the wizard anytime by clicking the X button in the top corner, or simply finish all the steps to complete the tour.

The wizard is ArtHelper’s way of introducing new features and helping you get started without adding clutter to the interface. If you receive the walkthrough, it’s there to help — but it’s completely optional, and you can skip or dismiss it whenever you like.

Quests: Earn Rep by completing specific tasks

Quests are optional, time-limited challenges that reward you with Rep points when you complete a specific action. Think of them as guided activities that help you engage with the ArtHelper community and build your reputation in structured, rewarding ways.

What are quests?

Quests are small, focused challenges like:

“Post your first community update”
“Verify as Human-Made Art”
“Connect with 5 artists”
“Leave a critique on another artist’s work”
“Complete your artist profile”

Each quest shows its point value (how much Rep you’ll earn when you complete it) and its expiry date (when the quest ends). You’ll need to complete the quest before it expires to earn the points.

Who sees quests?

Quests are targeted to specific groups of artists. Some quests only appear for:

New members — designed to help you get started and learn how ArtHelper works.
Artists at certain milestones — for example, when you reach a certain Rep level, upload your first artwork, or join a specific community.
Artists who meet specific criteria — such as artists who have verified as Human-Made Art, or artists who have been active in the last 30 days.

Not every quest will be available to every artist. If you don’t see a particular quest, it may be targeted to a different group or milestone.

How quests work:

Check the Community area or your notifications to see active quests available to you.
Complete the task described in the quest (post, connect, verify, etc.).
Earn the Rep points shown on the quest card when you finish.
Watch for new quests as you continue participating in the community — new challenges may appear as you reach new milestones or as ArtHelper releases new quest types.

Quests are optional:

You don’t have to complete quests to earn Rep or use ArtHelper. They’re simply one more way to build your reputation and discover features you might not have tried yet. If you prefer to earn Rep through the other activities described in this article (likes, comments, saves, critiques, bounties, referrals), that works just as well.

What to expect:

Quests are still being refined, so the types of quests available, the Rep amounts they reward, and the targeting rules may change as ArtHelper continues to develop the feature. If you see quests, treat them as optional bonuses — a fun, guided way to earn extra Rep while exploring the community.

Earning Rep through Quests

ArtHelper may show you quests — small challenges designed to reward community participation and help you earn Rep points. Quests are optional, fun ways to engage with the community and build your reputation.

What are quests?

Quests are simple challenges like “post to a community three times this week” or “invite a friend to ArtHelper.” When you complete a quest, you earn Rep points. Think of them as guided ways to participate in the community — they help you discover new ways to engage and reward you for doing so.

Are quests available to everyone?

Not yet — quests are still being rolled out, so you may or may not see them depending on your account. If you don’t see quests yet, don’t worry — you can still earn Rep through all the other ways described in this article (likes, comments, saves, views, referrals, critiques, and bounties). Quests are just one more way to earn, not a requirement.

Referral buddies

As part of the quest system, ArtHelper may introduce the idea of referral buddies — artists you invite who join ArtHelper. Inviting friends and having them join as your referral buddies can earn you Rep. This feature is still being finalized, so the details may change as it rolls out to more artists.

What to expect

Quests and the specific Rep amounts they award are still being tested and refined. ArtHelper may adjust quest types, rewards, and availability as the feature evolves. If you see quests, treat them as optional bonuses — a fun way to earn extra Rep while exploring the community.

Current earn rates and future changes

To reward early community members, today’s reputation point earn rates are set higher than they will be in the long term. Here’s what you need to know:

Current rates are temporary: The point values you earn today for likes, comments, saves, views, critiques, referrals, quests, bounties, and other activities are calibrated to encourage and reward participation during the community’s early growth phase. These rates will be adjusted as the community expands and matures.

Why rates will change: As more artists join ArtHelper and the community becomes more active, earn rates will be recalibrated to keep the Rep system balanced and fair. This ensures that reputation remains a meaningful measure of contribution and engagement, not just a reflection of when you joined.

Your earned points are safe: When earn rates are adjusted in the future, all reputation points you’ve already accumulated will remain in your balance. Rate changes only affect how many points you earn going forward — they do not reduce or remove points you’ve already earned.

What this means for you: You can continue earning Rep through all the activities described in this article. Over time, the number of points each activity earns may decrease, but your existing balance and your ability to keep building reputation will remain intact. ArtHelper will communicate any rate changes clearly when they happen.

This approach balances transparency with fairness — rewarding early participation while ensuring the Rep system remains sustainable and meaningful as the community grows.

How to check your points

Go to your points page at www.arthelper.com/points and sign in.
Your balance is at the top, with totals for this week, this month, and all time.
Scroll down to “Recent activity” to see every point you’ve earned — what happened, who it was, and when.
To invite a friend, find the “Invite a friend” section and click Copy link to share your personal referral link.

Seeing Rep earned from votes in notifications

When someone votes on your community post (by liking it, reacting with an emoji, or otherwise engaging with it), ArtHelper now shows you the reputation points you earned from that vote — both in the notification email you receive and in your in-app inbox notification.

What this means:

In the email notification: When you receive an email letting you know someone voted on your post, the email now displays the Rep points you earned from that vote.
In the in-app notification: When you check your notifications inside ArtHelper, you’ll see the same Rep amount displayed alongside the vote notification.

Why this helps:

Seeing the Rep points earned from each vote helps you understand how your total reputation grows as votes come in. Instead of wondering how much each interaction is worth, you can see the exact points you earned right away — making it easier to track your progress and understand which community activities contribute the most to your Rep balance.

This transparency is part of ArtHelper’s effort to help you see exactly how your community participation translates into reputation points, so you can make informed decisions about where to focus your time and energy.

Activity emails now link directly to the exact notification:

When you receive an activity notification email (for example, when someone likes your post, comments on your work, or votes on your community post), clicking the link in the email now takes you directly to that specific notification in your ArtHelper inbox — not just the general notifications page. This saves you time and helps you find and respond to the exact activity that triggered the email, making it easier to stay engaged with the community.

Understanding the Views metric

Every community post and comment now displays a Views count — a hero metric that shows how many people saw what you shared. This number appears directly on the post or comment card, giving you instant visibility into your reach.

What Views counts: The Views number tracks how many individual artists have seen your post or comment. It’s a measure of visibility and reach within the community — how widely your contribution has been seen.

Where you’ll see it: The Views count appears as a prominent metric on each post and comment card, alongside other engagement signals like likes and comments.

Views and reputation points: Community post and comment Views is a reach metric only. It shows you how many people are seeing your work, but it does not directly affect your Rep balance in the same way. You still earn reputation points the same way — through likes, comments, saves, critiques, bounties, quests, and referrals from other artists. Views gives you insight into your visibility and helps you understand which posts are reaching the community, but your Rep score continues to be driven primarily by active engagement (likes, comments, saves, critiques, bounties, quests, and invites).

Use Views to see what’s resonating with the community and reaching the widest audience. High view counts mean your work is being discovered — and that can lead to the likes, comments, and saves that do earn Rep.

The Leaderboard

The Leaderboard at www.arthelper.com/leaderboard ranks artists by Rep. It’s public — anyone can view it, signed in or not — and it updates continuously. Only active accounts appear on the Leaderboard. Disabled or banned accounts are excluded. There’s nothing to join or sign up for: as you earn Rep, you appear in the rankings automatically.

Here’s what you’ll see:

The top artist wears a crown, and the top three get medals.
Each row shows the artist’s rank, name, location, artist type, and points.
Click an artist’s name to visit their public profile, or use Follow and Connect right from their row. If you’re not signed in, you’ll be asked to sign in first.
Click an artist’s point total to preview the rewards their Rep could unlock.
Click Load more at the bottom to keep browsing the rankings.

To find the Leaderboard, click Leaderboard in the menu at the top of the community pages, or go straight to the link above.

Only real artist accounts appear in rankings and suggestions

The Leaderboard and ArtHelper’s recommendation system now exclude internal test accounts and bot profiles. This means:

The Leaderboard shows only genuine artist accounts. Internal testing profiles, placeholder accounts, and bot accounts used by the ArtHelper team do not appear in the public rankings.
People suggestions show only real artists. When ArtHelper suggests connections or displays recommended profiles, you’ll see only active, authentic artist accounts — not test or bot profiles.
Your Rep is earned from real engagement. Points you earn come from genuine artist activity — likes, comments, saves, views, critiques, quests, bounties, and referrals from actual community members.

This ensures the Leaderboard reflects true community standing and that the artists you’re encouraged to connect with are real people building their art careers alongside you. If you notice that certain accounts are no longer visible in suggestions or rankings, it’s because the system now filters out non-artist profiles automatically.

How your points are broken down by source

ArtHelper now shows you a detailed breakdown of where your Rep comes from — community posts, comments, critiques given, sparks shared, connections made, contests entered, quests completed, and more. This helps you understand which activities contribute the most to your reputation score and where to focus if you want to climb the Leaderboard.

Where to find your Rep breakdown:

On your own profile’s Rep tab — view a full breakdown of your points by source.
On the public Leaderboard at www.arthelper.com/leaderboard — when viewing your own entry, you’ll see the same breakdown.

What the breakdown shows:

The top earners view ranks artists by total Rep but lets you see which activities contribute the most to your score. For example, you might discover that most of your points come from community posts and comments, while a smaller portion comes from critiques given, sparks shared, quests completed, or contests entered. This transparency helps you see exactly what’s working and what actions earn the most Rep.

Why this matters:

Understanding your Rep sources helps you make strategic decisions about where to spend your time in the community. If you want to climb the Leaderboard, you can focus on the activities that earn the most points. If you’re curious about how your reputation compares to other artists, you can see how different activities stack up and where you might want to invest more effort.

The breakdown is designed to give you full visibility into your reputation — no mystery, just clear data about how your community participation translates into Rep.

Community milestones and notifications

ArtHelper celebrates your achievements and shares them with your network to help you build credibility and visibility in the community.

Human-Made Art verification notifications:

When you upgrade to Human-Made Art verification — a badge that proves your work is created by you, not AI — ArtHelper notifies the artists in your network (the artists you’re connected to) about this milestone. This community notification celebrates your achievement and lets your connections know you’ve been verified as a human artist. It’s a way to share your credibility with the people who follow your work and helps build trust in the community.

Verification milestones like this are part of how ArtHelper recognizes and rewards genuine artists. When your network sees that you’ve achieved Human-Made Art status, it reinforces your reputation and signals your commitment to authentic, artist-made work.

Rewards

As your Rep grows, it counts toward rewards from the ArtHelper team — things like a free month of a subscription, a portfolio PDF designed by our studio, or a one-hour art business consultation. Each reward has a point cost, listed on your points page.

Redeeming points is not open yet. Keep earning in the meantime — your balance is safe, and everything you’ve built up will be ready the moment redemption opens.

What to know about your points

Points don’t expire. Nothing fades just because time passes.
Points can be taken back. If someone unlikes your post, unsaves your post, or deletes a comment they left, the points it earned come back off. Your balance always reflects the appreciation that’s still standing.
Fair play is enforced. Spamming, scamming, fake accounts, or coordinating likes to inflate your score can cost you some or all of your points. Points given by accounts that are later banned are reversed too.
Your reputation is public. Your point total appears on your public profile and, as you earn, on the Leaderboard.

Why your reputation points might drop suddenly

Reputation points can decrease under certain circumstances. Here’s what can cause your Rep to drop and what to do if it happens:

1. Moderation removes content you posted

If moderation removes content you posted because it was spam, a duplicate post, or violated community standards, you lose the points you earned from that content. Each removed post takes away the points it contributed to your balance — including base points for posting and any engagement points (likes, comments, saves) it earned.

2. An artist you connected with deletes their account or is removed

If an artist you connected with deletes their account or is removed by ArtHelper for violating terms, you lose the connection points from that relationship. Points from their engagement with your content (likes, comments, saves) are also reversed.

3. Large drops (1500+ points to double digits, 17000 to 250)

If your Rep drops dramatically — for example, from 1500+ points down to double digits, or from 17000 to 250 — this almost always means one of two things:

(a) A batch of your posts were flagged and removed by moderation. Multiple posts removed at once will cause a steep drop because you lose all the points those posts earned.
(b) Your account was temporarily flagged and points were reset pending review. In rare cases, accounts are flagged for review and Rep is temporarily reset while the moderation team investigates.

What to do if your points drop suddenly:

Check your email for a message from the moderation team. If your content was removed or your account was flagged, you should receive an email explaining what happened and why.
If you didn’t receive an email and your points dropped dramatically, contact support immediately. Include your previous point total and the approximate date the drop occurred. The support team can review your account and investigate whether the drop was correct or an error.

4. Points do NOT drop from normal activity

Your Rep will not decrease from normal activities like:

Deleting your own post
Unfollowing someone
Changing your profile
Editing your artwork or bio

If your points drop and you haven’t violated any rules or had content removed, it’s likely a technical issue — contact support right away so the team can investigate.

Common questions

How do I get on the Leaderboard?

Earn Rep. There’s no form and no setting — once other artists start liking and commenting on your work, you enter the rankings automatically.

How do I climb the rankings?

Be a genuine, active part of the community: post your work and your progress, leave thoughtful comments on other artists’ posts, give constructive critiques on artwork, complete active bounties and quests, and share advice that helps. The more the community responds to you, the more Rep you earn.

Why did my balance go down?

Someone most likely unliked a post, unsaved a post, or deleted a comment they’d left on your work — the points those actions earned come back off. Your “Recent activity” list on the points page shows exactly what changed and when.

Why did my reputation points drop suddenly?

Rep points are recalculated periodically to remove points from deleted content, banned accounts, or flagged spam interactions. Here’s what you need to know:

What causes sudden point drops:

Points from deleted or banned accounts are removed retroactively. If you had connections with accounts that were later deleted or flagged as spam, the points those interactions earned are removed from your balance. This includes likes, comments, saves, and other engagement from those accounts.
Large drops often indicate spam ring purges. If your points dropped by more than 50% overnight, this usually means a bot network or spam ring you interacted with was purged from the system. ArtHelper removes fraudulent activity to keep the Rep system fair and accurate.
Your own legitimate activity is safe. Points from your own legitimate activity — uploads, posts, contest entries, critiques, quests, bounties, and genuine community participation — are never removed unless you delete the content yourself. Only points from interactions with flagged or deleted accounts are reversed.
If you believe the drop is a mistake, contact support. If you think your point drop is an error, contact ArtHelper support with your previous point total and the date it changed. The team can review the audit log and investigate if the drop was incorrect.
The Leaderboard recalculates every 24 hours. Your rank may shift even if your points stay the same, because the Leaderboard is recalculated daily based on everyone’s current totals. If you notice your rank changed but your points didn’t drop, it’s likely because other artists earned or lost points, moving you up or down in the rankings.

Why this happens:

ArtHelper’s periodic recalculations ensure the Rep system reflects genuine community engagement. Removing points from spam, bots, and deleted accounts keeps the Leaderboard fair and ensures your reputation is built on real artist interactions, not fake or fraudulent activity.

Do points expire?

No. Your balance only moves when the appreciation behind it changes — for example, when someone unlikes a post or unsaves it.

Can other people see my points?

Yes. Your reputation appears on your public profile, and artists earning Rep appear on the public Leaderboard, which anyone can view.

Can I redeem my points yet?

Not yet — redemption opens soon. The points page shows each reward and its point cost so you can start earning toward the one you want.

Do my own likes and comments count?

No. Liking your own post or commenting on your own work earns nothing — points only come from other artists.