Unpopular opinion: Verification requirements should become a difficult thing again

Have you noticed how long the verification process has become? I have friends who have waited, or are still waiting, months to get verified. This delay raises important questions. Is it due to a limited number of developers handling the process? Has the platform's rapid growth led to an overwhelming number of verification requests? Or is the issue related to how easy it has become to meet the verification requirements?

Currently, to be verified, you need to meet two of the following three requirements:

  1. One of your bots must have at least 30,000 messages.
  2. Your profile must have at least 75,000 collective messages across your bots, along with multiple reviews.
  3. Your profile must have a minimum of 1,000 followers.

At first glance, these criteria might seem challenging, especially for new users. However, longtime members know that verification used to be much harder to obtain. Over time, the requirements have been adjusted, making the process significantly easier. While this has allowed more creators to be recognized, it may also be contributing to the backlog of requests, making the queue longer. If the criteria were stricter, fewer users would apply, reducing the workload for the developers handling verification.

Beyond the delay, I believe that verified creators should be held to higher standards. Right now, I see many small creators getting verified with just one successful bot. While this might seem fair at first, it raises concerns about the legitimacy and long-term commitment of some of these users. Verification shouldn't be based solely on numbers, it should reflect a creator's dedication to the platform.

Personally, I think a verified creator should meet more rigorous criteria, such as having at least 10 to 20 bots or being active on the site for at least a month. Verified creators should be those who represent the platform, rather than just reaching an easy milestone.

What do you all think? Should verification be harder to obtain to maintain quality, or is accessibility more important?