Should there perhaps be a level for ‘natives’? Not that they aren’t learners, too; but having it be an actual level (manually and individually assigned by an admin, of course) would help to quickly distinguish the native speakers from the rest of us … if that’s really necessary, I mean.

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Not a native speaker.

Always wait for at least three people to agree on a translation, especially if it’s for something permanent.

My translations are usually GU (Ulster Irish), unless CO (Standard Orthography) is requested.

We considered that, actually (we thought about many configurations before settling on this one). The problem is, at this point, we only have one native speaker who is a regular and she, understandably, felt uncomfortable being singled out. If we were to attract more native speakers, though, I would see it as a really useful designation.

We also considered "tosaitheoir," "bunleibhéal," "meánleibhéal," "ardleibhéal" and "líofa," but figured there'd be too much individual angst going on ("what do you mean I'm only a beginner...surely I'm an intermediate by now!"). Also, it can be hard, especially in print, to distinguish the "meánleibhéals" from the "ardleibhéals" and the "ardleibhéals" from the "líofas."

Redwolf

It was contemplated, kk, but the definition of "native" itself can be controversial - and as you know some near-natives can be as strong as natives in certain areas. In the end, it was a native who suggested that even natives can learn from non-natives and vice versa.

It would be appreciated if people would give honest notification of their abilities in their signatures, etc., but in any case, it soon becomes clear enough which people have strengths and weaknesses in which areas without explicitly labelling them.

We want to encourage everyone to a spirit of mutual learning that makes use of their strengths but also helps them address their weaknesses and supplement them with knowledge gained from others on the forum.

So we have decided not to impose labels on people and will stick to one term that defines our overall purpose.

Breandán

(Crossed with Redwolf's explanantion but complementary rather than contradictive thereof. )

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

I am a native speaker, and I have not been labelled as such here and should be......... I am a native speaker of Texas Twang. I am thinking of demanding a designation for "Foghlaimeóir Ghaeilge le blas Theacsain". Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Don't these ranks depend on the number of messages that have been posted?

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Yes, and No, Lughaidh. They can be set either way, i.e., by post count, or manually. At the moment, only the Tréimhse tástála (Trial period) is set by post count and we've decided to leave it that way.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Because seeing "Foghlaimeoir" under Bríd's name makes me laugh

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Lughaidh: That is a joke to have Bríd under Foghlaimeoir, but hey, can't "foghlaim" also mean "to teach" sometimes in Donegal? (ie..to learn them). So maybe she could be a "foghlaimeóir" meaning teacher! LOL

How many posts does one require to lose the "Tréimhse Tástála" tag? (I think this will be my fifth post, so if the tag disappears after I click Submit then you won't have to answer me! )

I think people are confusing tosaitheoir (beginner) with foghlaimeoir (learner). Calling Bríd a tosaitheoir would be laughable - but everyone at any level can and should be a learner whether it be of Irish or of life in general.

Someone mentioned to me quite recently:

To me, this is the essence of the term foghlaimeoir.


The Tréimhse tástála lasts for 10 posts (as does the "Newly registered user permissions" that limits some functions -> oops sorry just realised you still hadn't been bumped up to Registered user -> done). After that you're tosaitheoir for another ten posts (with no real meaning or limitation - it's just to let people know you are still new to our forum), and after 20 posts everyone is a foghlaimeoir.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).