From: Hal <hfinney@shell.portal.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 94 09:44:59 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: RATINGS: Subject tags
Message-ID: <199402221745.JAA03244@jobe.shell.portal.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


One issue is the purpose of the ratings system.  I don't think it will help
to solve the problem of intentional disruption.  If the disrupter is really
motivated, he could have multiple identities and give positive ratings to
his messages, so they would get through.

I think a good purpose would be filtering out uninteresting or lower-quality
messages.  Unless someone else vouches for a message, it would not appear
for a subscriber to the filtered list.

Eric asked that discussions on this topic use the "subject tag" concept,
putting "RATINGS:" in the subject line.  Subject tags are a good idea but
are not widely used.  If more people would use them it would help people to
read those messages that interest them.

My suggestion is that the ratings be based on subject tags.  A rater reads
a message, and if he endorses it as being worth reading he sends in one or
more subject tags (keywords) which apply.  Then someone on the filtered list
could subscribe based on particular tags that interest them.

The advantage is that this way even newcomers' messages are tagged with useful
keywords, tags provided by old-timers on the list when they approve the messages.
This also provides for the multi-dimensional aspect of approval, more useful
than a simple "thumbs up".

I won't try to suggest a syntax, but under this proposal a rating message
would include some message identifier (perhaps the list should produce
messages with an incrementing message number), along with a list of
applicable subject tags.

Hal