Yes, they are although I don't subscribe to all this Plancton, Minnow, Dolphin, Whale claptrap. It encourages people to believe there are levels to attain to reap bigger rewards. For me, there are four things I look at:

1. Reputation level

2. Frequency of posts

3. Interaction level (Replies etc.)

4. Rewards Levels

I can never understand why Reputation is not important to Hive users? The whole idea of it is so you know that @nathanmars is a trusted community member. :-)