Introduction
TrustNet is an alternative to the SL ratings system. Unlike the SL system, there are no global ratings in
TrustNet. Instead, scores are calculated for people based on your ratings, and the ratings of the people you trust.
Everybody gets different scores for the same person, and in fact, it’s perfectly possible for two people to have completely different scores for the same person.
The system is much more accurate and resistant to attempts to disrupt it than the SL one, as you are the one who chooses whose opinion you want to trust. If you find their opinion is too unreliable you just have to remove their positive rating, and their opinion will stop counting for you.
How It Works
Unlike simpler systems,
TrustNet doesn't just count the number of positive and negative votes for an avatar. Doing it this way is unreliable and very abuse prone. Instead,
TrustNet calculates scores based on ratings given by people you decided to trust, and the people they decided to trust. This way, scores are tailored to you specifically and are much more likely to be accurate than with other systems.
An approximate way of describing how it works is: Imagine that every time you met somebody you sent an IM to your whole friends list, and asked them if they met that person before. They would ask their friends in turn, and then they'd all report back to you.
TrustNet does something very similar to this, only automatically.
See the
HowTrustNetWorks page for a more complete and technical explanation.
Where To Get It
Products
TrustNetAvatarScanner
TrustNetSecurityOrb
TrustNetImporter