NOP, INT, Short, etc... show activity level. It is directly compared to your overall post count. If you stay active you will move up to INT and through the data types.
VIP, or very important person, is rewarded to people who contribute good posts. Like tutorials or helpful answers. You need to add to the betterment of this community with quality content, and exercise a working knowledge of what true hacking is.
Moderators do just that. They are like the janitors and book keepers of the boards. They have the authority to lock and remove threads in the areas they are given. Some moderators can only admin one or two boards and usually don't have the power to ban people. This privilege of MOD is rewarded to people that have great knowledge in the areas they are MODs of.
Global moderators, like myself, can MOD most all boards and have the power to ban members.
To be a MOD, you need to be very knowledgeable and have good ethics. You need to show dedication to the community, and the betterment of the site.
Admins are the ones that run the site. Adding new features, updating and patching the site, and at least one of them own the site, this case Ande AFAIK. There can be multiple owners, which are admins, but not all admins are owners. To be an admin you need to meet all the above requirements, with longevity. Most all admins have been here since the beginning, and show years of dedication and hard work to help the site further progress.
