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by apothegm 30 days ago
All it takes, though, is for one unscrupulous or lazy individual to join, and then they vouch for a few people they don’t really know, and then you get a bot vouched for, and then a few more, and the first few bots vouch for other bots, and soon they’re all vouching for each other and you’re back to where you started.

Basically, it’s a system that works at a scale where individuals can hold one another accountable. But not really beyond the Dunbar number, and certainly not at internet scale.
2 comments
idontsee 30 days ago
Ğ1 (https://duniter.org/) has a strategy that largely solves this. It's a web-of-trust cryptocurrency with some adoption in France that includes a UBI.

To become a full member of the WoT, you need five valid signatures from existing members, and be at a distance of <=5 signature hops away from 80% of the network. Signatures expire, and there's limits on issuing signatures. (There's a few more rules to it)

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iamnothere 30 days ago
Lobste.rs tracks who vouched for who, and can (and does) ban users at the root of bot farms as well as the entire tree below.
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