Skool

Skool↗ is a community platform that gets Gamification drives self-discovery right. They put a rocket emoji next to top contributors’ names—simple, visible, motivating. That’s where The Star came from.

What they understand: recognition works. Not hidden metrics or buried leaderboards. Visible badges that show up everywhere your name does. The rocket isn’t about collecting points—it’s a signal that you add value. That changes how people engage.

I ran communities and info products before building Commune. Tried different platforms, watched what worked. Skool’s approach stuck with me because it’s clean. They don’t overcomplicate it. Top contributors get recognized. Period.

The lesson for Commune: make progress visible. Stars on notes work like rockets on names—they surface what matters without requiring explanation. The Star applies that thinking to ideas instead of people. Which notes anchor your wiki? The stars tell you.

Both Build in Public and Skool are about showing work. Skool shows who contributes. Commune shows which ideas compound. Same principle, different application.

I’m not trying to clone Skool. But their instinct for recognition—that’s worth stealing. Gamification drives self-discovery when the game mechanics reveal real value, not fake internet points.