To trust, or not to trust...
May 03 '00 (Updated Apr 26 '03)
The Bottom Line Read the review.
that is the question. (With apologies to William Shakespeare)
WEAVING THE WEB OF TRUST
When I first run across an Epinionator, whether through the just in entry, or, through reading reviews, or if he/she trusts me, or occasionally if someone gives me a rating significantly different than the other raters, or if he/she asks me, I may take some time (usually at least 15-30 minutes) to decide whether to trust or distrust them.
In order for me to trust someone, I usually check out at least 10* of their reviews, in topics I am interested in. They must all be well-written, and (with some exceptions involving humor) must all be rated HR or R by my standards. (See this for my rating standards.)
* If there are fewer than 10 reviews, but all are HR by my standards, I will probably consider adding him to my WoT, but, unless the number of reviews increases shortly, he won't be there long.
I also check out their rating system, either by looking at how they say they rate and by noting their ratings of reviews in the topics they seem to specialize in, to see if their rating system is generally consistent with mine. (If I don't come across many reviews they rate, I may ask them in what topic they rate reviews.) If they highly rate a review which I consider abusive, or rate NR reviews which I consider well-written and on-topic, they're off my trust list, unless I receive an explanation.
Furthermore, I check out their web of trust, both by looking at their description of how they trust, and by sampling a few of the people they trust, to see if they generally meet my criteria stated here.
If everything checks out, I'll add them to my WoT.
PRUNING THE WEB OF TRUST
If I find that someone on my web of trust has had their reviews pulled for abuse, I'll take them off. If I see a ticket on their account, I'll investigate, but will probably take them off the WoT. If I see an abusive review, regardless of whether it's ticketed, I will remove them from my WoT. If I notice a known abuser (or someone on my WoD) in their WoT, I'll ask about it. If I don't receive a satisfactory answer, they're history.
GROWING THE WEB OF DISTRUST
If I run across an abusive review, or one which is merely NR, I may check that user's page. If a random sampling of 3 of his highest rated reviews are all inappropriate or abusive, I'll almost certainly add him to the WoD. Also, if someone states that he'll rate everyone HR, or will trust everyone he runs across, he'll go in the WoD. (I don't trust Jesus_H_Christ anyway; I'm Jewish.)
If you're wondering why I choose his highest rated reviews; it's because I'm looking for abusive reading/rating/trusting circles. I've already run across 2 or 3.
I have a question for the readers of this review: If reviewer A trusts reviewer B, and B is on my WoD, should I immediately consider putting A on my WoD? It's not entirely clear to me. Certainly, if A has written no reviews, and everyone A trusts is on (or being considered for) my WoD, then A goes on my WoD.
Closing Thoughts
This review is clearly not in its final state. I'll consider any comments or suggestions, either about this review, or about my WoT in general, although I don't promise to accept any corrections, even from people I trust.
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Epinions.com ID:
Arthur.Rubin
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 in Personal Finance |
 in Personal Finance |
 - Top 500 |
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Member: Arthur Rubin
Location: Brea, CA, USA
Reviews written: 97
Trusted by: 109 members
About Me:
Expert in mathematics, computers, income tax, with a wide variety of interests.
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