Levels - are they randomly assigned?

[KenFarley]

I've noticed of late that the "Levels", which I understood to be a supposed indicator of expertise, seem to be randomly assigned. For example, I'm seeing users who signed up days ago, posted one question, and are at Level 3. Another with a total of three posts is at Level 6. Are these levels meaningless now?

[Jaime_Lee]

Hi, great question!  I can't reveal the formula that is causing the assignment of levels, but there is a formula.  In the near future, we will be changing the formula and increasing the "gamification" aspects of the community.  We'll let everyone know before we make any changes to the ranking.