What is the trust metric system?

The trust metric system used on robots.net is part of the underlying mod_virgule software which runs this site. Originally developed by Raph Levien for the free software developer's site, Advogato, the trust metric is designed to provide a security infrastructure that resists even massive attacks while excluding spammers, trolls, and other problems common to weblog sites. A technical description of how the trust metric is computed is available for those who are interested. Another example of a trust metric system is the Google page rank algorithm.

How do I certify another user?

To certify someone, make sure you are logged in, then go to the person's page and use the pulldown form to select the certification level you believe to be appropriate for the person.

How do I become certified?

If you know other users already on the system, ask them to certify you. If you don't know anyone currently using the system, it's still possible to get certified but it may take some time for other users to develop trust that you're a real user and not a troll or spammer. The best way to get started is to check your bio and make sure you've provided a real name, a link to your website, and some sort of description of yourself. Also, all users are able to post blog/diary entries and you may find it helpful to describe some of the projects you're working on or post comments about articles there. If you already have a blog on another site, feel free to cut and past it here as well.

What are the certification levels?

robots.net has four certification levels (actually five if you count one that is reserved for system administrators). The certification level of each user is computed daily based on certification they have received from their peers. While site usage functions such as posting depend only on whether or not you've recieved a trust certification, some users find it helpful to also classify users according to their perceived standing in the robots.net community. The following descriptions are intended to explain what each certification level means and offer guidelines for deciding what level to use when certifying a user. The trust metric system is more robust when there are many trust certificates so please certify any other robots.net users that you know.

Observer

Observer is the default certification level given to all new accounts. It generally signifies a new user or a user who is not involved in robotics. This untrusted level provides the user with the ability to post entries in their diary but no other special capabilities. All information on the site is available for their viewing, however. Everything on this site is always freely available to all users regardless of their trust ranking. Only the ability to add information is restricted based on trust ranking.

Apprentice

The apprentice trust level signifies that a user is at least known to other users of the system and has an interest in robotics. This level of trust certificate (or higher) should be given to any robots.net users that you know personally and that you feel is interested in learning more about robotics. In addition to posting diary entries, users with at least this level of certificate can post replies in the public message forums.

Journeyer

A journeyer must meet the requirements of the apprentice, above. A journeyer must be someone you know personally and someone interested in learning more about robotics. But in addition to these qualifications, a journeyer is someone who is actively involved with robotics in some way. For example, perhaps they have built one or more robots themselves, are an active member of a local robotics group, or work in a robotics-related position at their place of employment. The important qualifier is that a journeyer is someone who has moved beyond a mere interest in the field to the point of active participation.

Master

A Master is someone who meets all the qualifications of the journeyer, above. In addition, it is someone who has accumulated a high level of real-world experience in one or more areas of robotics through full-time (or nearly full-time) participation. This is someone who has built robots, founded robotics clubs or competitions, published useful books, or started successful robotics-related businesses. And this should be someone who has learned not only a mastery of robotics but of the communications skill necessary to share their knowledge and help others learn; someone who is able to serve as a mentor to apprentices and journeyers.