public channel
absentee owner - joins for a few minutes occasionally for a little housekeeping then parts
Owner makes most users Managers when s]he joins

Unclear on authority one level has over another - can't find it documented anywhere

As a Manager, when this user dropped to op level, i tried to reset it to star, and then normal - no effect
tried to kick this user out of the channel with a temporary /ban - didn't work
planned to ban then remove and reset the level on rejoin

been going on in a channel for over 3 hours now
scrollback filled with purple msgs of user level changing op -> Mngr -> op -> Mngr ad nauseum


4:08:19 PM * s***er has joined
4:26:19 PM * s***er has left
4:32:21 PM * guest12345 has joined
4:43:03 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
4:43:06 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
4:44:57 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
4:44:59 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
4:45:26 PM * Man-OPer level is now op

7:00:01 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:00:01 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:00:23 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:00:23 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:00:33 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:00:35 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:01:04 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:01:12 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:01:18 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:01:19 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:01:36 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:01:42 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:02:06 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:02:09 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:02:35 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:02:36 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:02:47 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:02:51 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:03:05 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:03:06 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:03:13 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:03:19 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:03:33 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:03:34 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:03:42 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:03:50 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:03:57 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:04:03 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:04:13 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:04:18 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:04:25 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:04:27 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:04:28 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:04:32 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:04:55 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:05:00 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager


7:32:17 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:32:18 PM  > /setlevel Man-OPer star
7:32:18 PM * Man-OPer recommended level set to star
7:32:18 PM  > /restrict Man-OPer star
7:32:18 PM restricted user key ***
7:32:18 PM restricted *.*.*.*/32
7:32:26 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:32:38 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:32:38 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:32:46 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:32:47 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager


7:38:10 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:38:12 PM  > /setlevel Man-OPer normal
7:38:12 PM  > /restrict Man-OPer normal
7:38:12 PM restricted user key ***
7:38:12 PM restricted *.*.*.*/32
7:38:15 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:38:24 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:38:25 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager


7:39:03 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:39:05 PM  > /setlevel Man-OPer
7:39:05 PM * Man-OPer recommended level set to -
7:39:05 PM  > /ban Man-OPer
7:39:05 PM restricted user key ***
7:39:05 PM restricted *.*.*.*/32
7:39:13 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
7:39:24 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
7:39:29 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager

8:05:48 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
8:05:49 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager
8:06:15 PM * Man-OPer level is now op
8:06:19 PM * Man-OPer level is now manager

Update:
after an interruption with channel connection, that user is now alternating between moderator and manager levels, still about 10 changes each minute

This user with the flapping level has only a single "Level:" setting, which alternates between "Level: mod" and "Level: manager" when it switches status. There is no "Recommended Level" set for this user.

For some others, I am seeing level info such as:

Level: mod
Recommended level: op

or
Level: manager
Recommended level: op

These are stable at the "Level" shown even though they might show a higher or lower "Recommended Level".

What does the "Recommended Level" do?

How does it get set as the actual "Level:"?