Staff badges help members spot official company or community staff in forums and direct messages. Communities enable a custom icon and optional label, such as Etsy Staff, for accounts that match configured staff email rules. Admins request setup through Bevy Support or their Customer Success Manager.
A staff badge is an identity signal for Enterprise Forums. When enabled for your community, Bevy can show a community-provided icon and optional label — for example an orange E with Etsy Staff — near a staff member’s name so others can tell they represent the company.
Staff badges are not the same as discussion role chips such as Admin, Moderator, or Original Poster, and they are not gamification badges or ranks. They only appear after your community enables the feature and sets who qualifies.
Note: Staff badges are configured for your community by Bevy Support or your Customer Success Manager. They are not turned on from the Admin Dashboard. See Contact Bevy Support to submit a request.
What a staff badge means for members
When you see a staff icon or label next to someone’s name in forums or direct messages, that account matches the community’s staff email rules. It marks the person as configured company or community staff — not as a forum Admin or Moderator by itself.
You may see the icon alone on compact surfaces (discussion cards, leaderboards, conversation lists). Fuller author areas can show the icon plus a label such as Etsy Staff.
| Where it can appear | Typical display |
|---|---|
| Post author blocks and blog author summaries | Icon next to the name; fuller layouts can also show the staff label |
| Comments and replies | Icon next to the commenter’s name |
| Hover profile cards | Icon (and label when the layout includes it) on the card |
| Discussion list cards and leaderboard rows | Compact, icon-only in most communities |
| Direct messages (conversation list, inbox, thread header, and chat profile sidebar) | Your community’s staff icon when configured. In a DM thread header, a green check can appear instead if no staff icon is uploaded |
Tip: Direct messages use the same staff rules as forums when your community has direct messages and the staff badge enabled. The badge appears in the conversation list, inbox, thread header, and chat profile sidebar for qualifying peers.
How staff eligibility works
Eligibility is based on email, not on a manual “staff” forum role:
-
Staff email domains — any address on those domains can qualify (for example everyone at
yourcompany.com). - Staff email addresses — specific addresses that should qualify even if their domain is not listed.
- You can use domains, exact emails, or both.
By default, Bevy only shows the badge when the matching email address is verified. If your community does not require email verification on signup, tell Bevy Support or your Customer Success Manager when you request setup so they can turn that requirement off.
Important: Turning off the verified-email requirement can show the staff badge for unverified addresses that match your domain or email list. Request that only when your signup flow does not verify email.
Request staff badge setup (admins)
Because staff badges are configured for the whole community instance, contact Bevy Support or your Customer Success Manager to enable and set them up. Submit a request through your usual support channel and include:
| What to provide | Required? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Staff badge icon | Required | Image file for the icon next to staff usernames. Recommended 100×100 pixels |
| Staff email domains and/or addresses | Required | Domains (for example yourcompany.com), specific email addresses, or both |
| Staff badge label | Optional | Short text on fuller surfaces, for example Etsy Staff or Your Company Staff |
| Icon sizing and spacing | Optional | Custom height, aspect ratio, or spacing if defaults do not fit your brand mark |
| Verified email requirement | Optional | Say if your community does not verify email on signup and you want that requirement turned off (it is on by default) |
Until the feature is enabled for your community, the badge stays hidden everywhere — even if you have already sent an icon and email list.
Staff badge vs other identity signals
| Signal | What it means | How it is set up |
|---|---|---|
| Staff badge (icon and optional label) | This account matches your community’s company or client staff email rules | Requested through Bevy Support or your Customer Success Manager |
| Discussion role chips (Admin, Moderator, Original Poster, and similar) | What the person can do in that forum or thread | Forum roles and moderation settings |
| Gamification badges or ranks | Participation or achievement levels in the community | Gamification (separate from staff badge) |
Someone can be company staff and also hold a forum Admin or Moderator role. Those signals can appear together; they answer different questions (who represents the company vs what they can do in the forum).