actually i'm experienced as a coder... - i might say a wizard - and when i release something here, there was no proof of that regarding my releases... most of them have gone to oblivion just because they were not very useful.. but they were very well coded, (at least the official releases.. lol) and that was not enough to give me a level 9.. .lol

A small amount of subjectiveness plays a part - in so much as things like user ratings and motm are taken into consideration, but for the most part, releases, installs [and vb version] are the main inputs. They are not subjective.

As for 'how supportive is the author' - By this I can only assume you mean is the supported box ticked - this plays no part in the calculation.

The release level is a quantitative measurement. The old system had a degree of subjectivity because the titles themselves describe Coder, Advanced Coder, Master Coder...which is a qualitative brand on the coder.

We are steering away from that.

(IE: A members release level has no indication of his coding quality, just a myriad of quantitative factors in the community.)