'Reputation in anonymous contexts' report for UniRep / Ethereum Foundation

Last year, I worked with Gabriele de Seta and Dino Ge Zhang on a report for the Privacy + Scaling Explorations team at the Ethereum Foundaton. The project was lead by the Unirep crew that was developing a Zero-Knowledge Protocol for Provable User Data Management (per their own words).

UniRep is a private and non-repudiable data system. Users can receive attestations from attesters, and voluntarily prove facts about their data without revealing the data itself. Moreover, users cannot refuse to receive attestations from an attester.

The Unirep project seems dead atm but the report was the opportunity to probe the question of reputation, and on my side to investigate more in details how China’s Social Credit System works in that regard.

Below some more info and the full report availabe for download.

Abstract

This document discusses the relationship between anonymity and reputation in online communities, with case studies from 4chan and Reddit, as well as Japan’s 2ch and China’s Social Credit System. The author argues that design decisions about anonymity and reputation need to take into account users’ elasticity and cultural contexts, and recommends mapping continuums instead of binaries, accounting for elasticity, questioning universality, providing flexible ways to enforce rules, and prioritizing interoperability. The document also provides references for further reading.

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary 3
2. Introduction 4
3. Approach & Methodology 4
4. Definitions: Anonymity & reputation 5 4.1. What is anonymity? 5 4.1.1. Why is anonymity important? 6 4.1.2. Behavioral and social effects of anonymity 6 4.1.3. Anonymity and ICTs 7 4.2. What is reputation? 7 4.2.1. How is it related to fame or popularity? 8 4.2.2. Relationships with trust 8 4.3. Summary 8 4.4. Takeaways 9
5. Case Studies: Anonymity & reputation in context 9 5.1. Early online communities in the United States 9 5.2. 2000s forums (4chan reddit) 10 5.2.1. 4chan 10 5.2.2. Reddit 11 5.3. Early internet communities in East Asia 12 5.3.1. 2Channel 13 5.3.2. Nimingban: a facade of anonymity 14 5.4. China’s Social Credit System 14 5.4.1. The SCS Data Platform 15 5.4.2. Mechanisms and Regulatory Systems 16 5.5. Takeaways 17
6. Recommendations: 17
7. References 18

Takeaways

• The report explores the concept of reputation in an anonymous social environment online.
• The report is divided into three sections: definitions, case studies, and recommendations.
• The research is conducted by a group of three social scientists and the Unirep Protocol team.
• The definitions section lays the groundwork for the report by defining anonymity and reputation and discussing their relationship to trust.
• The case studies section uses a case study approach to illustrate how anonymity and reputation changed through history and in different global contexts.
• The recommendations section provides practical design knowledge derived from the history and discussion.
• The recommendations include: mapping continuums instead of binaries, accounting for elasticity, questioning universality, providing flexible ways to enforce rules, and prioritizing interoperability.
• The report suggests that reputation in an anonymous social environment online is a complex and nuanced concept that requires careful consideration and flexible design

Download the full report (PDF)