I Don't Trust Myself. Why Should I Trust You?, Or, This May Make No Sense At All
May 26 '00
The Web Of Trust is perhaps the most enigmatic and occasionally misunderstood tool here at Epinions. While it's great to trust people, and to have people trust you, some people don't fully understand the point of the WOT (either that or I'm just explaining my way of doing things...great, here come the NR's). Some use it as a way to get trust back. Some are very picky when trusting (I suppose that would be me), and some DTA - Don't Trust Anybody (thank Mr. Profile Picture for that). I wouldn't say DTA, I would say DTE - Don't Trust Everybody!
So where am I going with this? It all stems from an email I got last night from a member here. They said that they wanted to trust me, but because my WOT is so small, there isn't much of a chance that I'll trust back, so unless you trust me, I won't trust back. I replied "I don't trust myself, so how can I trust you? (hence the name of this editorial). Also, the other night I came across a member's game review. I SR'd it (it was only a paragraph) and he went and trusted me without reading ONE of my reviews! I said that and someone said that they must be a "trust $lut (I love the little terms we have sprung up here)." This person removed me last night, which is fine. I want you to trust me for the sake of it. Trust me because you LIKE me. That simple.
These folks who did this came across as people who doesn't understand the WOT. It's not about "trust me, trust you", even though sometimes a member will trust you, then you go read their reviews, and trust them - I've done it. It's about finding people who you REALLY trust, and do it without worry if they don't trust you back.
Then again, really trusting someone is a tough call. Do I trust you in a room alone with my girlfriend? Nope. It's a different level of trust. It's trust in the member's reviews and how informative they are. Have I made friends with people in my WOT? Of course. I have a handful that I email with, and a few I talk with on the Yahoo Clubs board. Not all of them are on my WOT, but I do consider them a friend.
The number one thing behind the WOT? Despite all the funny names, goofy titles, and wacky pictures - beyond all that, is a real live human being. Behind that picture of Stone Cold lies me, Adam. So are all of you (no, not Adam, humans. At least I hope so). So the grounds of my WOT reside in two different areas. Write good stuff? You at least get bookmarked. Do I like you personally? If I do, on the WOT you go. I'm a good judge of people (from what I'm told), and even if this is an online community, personalities do shine. From Hard To Please and his hilarious humor (and a great person as well), to the upbeat style of JENNI1396, to the passion of 401402, those are the kind of personalities that lead to personal like, and a place on a WOT.
Now, just because you aren't on my WOT doesn't mean I don't like you. Chances are, you are on my personal bookmark page. It's sort of my private WOT. Everyone who trusts me is bookmarked, along with about 100 others (safe to say, my bookmarks should be an actual book). My way of doing things is a bit different, but it's my way right? If I read a handful of your reviews and HR them, and like your style, your profile gets bookmarked. If I really like you, eventually you get on my public WOT. So far, only 27 are on my public WOT. Does that seem like too little? For two months work, I don't think so. I have seen people with a lot less on theirs with more experience here. Now I'm not saying it's bad to trust everyone under the sun, because it's fine with me. Some people just go around it different ways (if anyone wants a list of people I bookmarked, you can get it for $10 shipping. I'm kidding).
Worse off, my WOT goes under scrutiny from the big boys at Epinions. As a resident games expert, darn near all my reviews and ratings get put under a microscope. As does who I trust. And distrust. If my WOT was in the hundreds (like 200, 300), you might get cited for abuse and lose your title. I'd like to think I busted my ass for that title, so I don't want to lose it (even if it's only a status symbol) on something as silly as the WOT. So look at it like this. If you are on my bookmarks I do trust you. If you are on my WOT, I REALLY trust and like you. Your "my kind of people." Make me laugh, make me smile, inform me, or any combination of the three and your there.
The Web Of Distrust is another story. I don't bookmark people on my WOD. I just distrust them. If I feel your contributions are as worthless as Manute Bol's NBA career (Manute if you are reading, I'm sorry big guy, but you only made it to the NBA because you were really tall), sorry, your on the LIST. I wish I could keep my WOD private. Everyone should have a right to see who anyone else distrusts. And those I distrust can see it too. If they want to go and NR everything I write, thanks for the penny, have a nice day. Someone pointed out to me, if someone NR's a review, those in their WOT probably won't see it. Well, if it's an abuser, I don't want them to read it anyway.
But all that's my opinion, and how I use the WOT. Everyone uses it differently. Some trust everybody, some trust nobody, some are average trusters, some trust to get trust, then take them off the WOT (I've seen it firsthand). All I have to say is "DON'T TRUST EVERYBODY!"
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Epinions.com ID:
awoolcott
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 in Games |
 - Top 200 |
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Location: Arizona
Reviews written: 409
Trusted by: 401 members
About Me:
Okay, scratch that...Uncharted 2 - Game of the Year.
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