Yes, you do need to beat the level to upload it to the servers for other people to play.

A very clever stop gap from Nintendo in my opinion. Of course this can be subverted cleverly.

The original motivation of team 0% was the opinion that anyone who took the effort, and expressed the creativity, to create a level deserved the bare minimum that someone else actually played their level.

Trimming the herbs and the rest of the final 10 were all made by very active community members who uploaded and played many levels, but the real spirit of 0% is the maker and level who was lost to obscurity and so was unable to share their creativity with others.

At a book signing who deserves the signature more? The person who showed up 10 minutes early and has the author sign 30 books “to eBay” or the kid who spent their last allowance money on a copy of the book and had to walk to the signing from school so is the last person in line.

Team 0% is the author that sticks around way past the scheduled time to make sure everyone, both the reseller and the super fan, get their autograph.