What do ranks mean?

OK, I know this is an alliance about having fun, but I have to ask: what do the ranks mean?

I was a newcomer and now I'm a specialist, I'm not too sure what this means and I have a somewhat insatiable curiosity

for those who haven't checked it over, the ranks are as follows:

RANKS:
Newcomer(First 2 Days)
Trainee
Agent
Specialist
Spy

The special ranks below those are specified, but I am confused about these, or are these just random name ranks to designate people for no real reason 'cause that's fine too.

*Clears Throat* No sweat. Let me explain it to ya.

Newcomer is when you've just entered the alliance, to indicate who's recently joined.
Trainee, of course, comes after that which signifies that you're starting to get a feel of the Alliance.
Next is Agent which goes up due to your rank and breaking the shell to communicate with us, I believe.
Specialist, well that's where you're at. You're doing an excellent job, and also communicating on the forums and being open to us if ya need anything from one of us, for as an alliance, we've got your back!
Spy. Wish I remember what the explanation was'gain.
My buddy Zionez wanted to make up ranks that sound Secret-Agent-like, s'why it's understandable if you and perhaps some others may be confused.
I'm pretty sure that ya know that your rank increases as it changes. It's not like having ranks that indicate if you're a Miner, a Raider, etc. In a way, they make sense, yet in another way, they don't. Perhaps it'd be best to speak to Zionez about to make sure that what I am explaining is indeed correct x3 I wouldn't want'ta cause any more confusion than there already is.

Regards,
JohnSmith.

thanks for the info, and yeah it is a nice system better than the military ranks most alliances use

Oh so that's how the ranks work.
I was wondering about those.
>_>
I'm so used to the point system. Hehe.
Gives me something to look forward to when reaching a point value.
Lol.