How you get those privileges is detailed in here.
The future of the forum
".... if they consistently demonstrate a willingness to further the aim of the forum by posting and answering the posts of others. Deciding who will make the jump to the new usergroup will be down to me in concert with nominations from those in the new user group."
To me it seems to be a bit circular, as to be a part of the group you must be able to post with knowledge and experience, but to gain knowledge and experience you must be part of the group.
I used to be a Gold member and this site used to be my goto site for research and knowledge. It was for me the gold standard for anything HJ related. But then I had to take an extended break from the site and when I returned and got a new username I no longer had access to the info and resources I used to have. I now find it difficult to regain that knowledge except by looking outside this website and, as I have no real clue what I could be doing to gain access to this special group, I am afraid I feel I am on a slippery slope of using this site less and less as I find other sources of information.
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