In Onyx, two top holders Banana Man and Rhino had zero official role but I genuinely listened to them. They had more knowledge, they were generous with it, Banana Man even sent me XCN to stake and pulled me into SINU early. That’s the thing they never demanded respect, they just kept showing up with value and it built naturally.
In Ringo I got it wrong on the friendly side. Users were pressuring me to bet in their favor, calling me broke, and instead of enforcing a line I just went quiet when it got overwhelming. I disappeared. That’s the bug I confused going calm with going absent. The authority didn’t survive it.
As for default authority being early in these communities got me noticed before I’d fully earned it. I know that. The plan is simple: keep showing up with actual work, because in Web3 the room moves fast and rep without consistent contribution expires quick.