This also must have changed the number of topics counted as recent which, apparently, triggered a purge of TL3 ranked uses: Regular badge on VEX Forum
Out of about 60 users with regular status that vexforum used to have, there are now only 28 left - probably, only those who read the majority of topics and posts.
Not that it makes a lot of difference, since TL3 carries almost no extra benefits, but it is curious how that change had propagated through the system.
Edit: Trust Levels were discussed before: Forum Trust Levels, Regular Status, TL3 Lounge