Building Web Reputation Systems
An excellent source of information both for those wanting to build reputation systems and for those who want to use them
My Rating: 
Pros
- Covers a range of different types of reputation systems.
- Discusses the affect that who can see what can have on how a reputation system might be used/misused.
- Includes practical examples of reputation systems used effectively and also some that encouraged misuse.
Cons
- An early non web example references FICO without explaining what FICO is. Presumably it is something well known but local to where the authors live.
Description
- First Edition: March 2010
- 316 page paperback
- Published by O'Reilly Media
- ISBN: 978-0-596-15979-5
- Ratings, Reviews, & Karma to Keep Your Community Healthy
- Authors F Randall Farmer and Bryce Glass
Review
Many web sites may benefit by the addition of a reputation system of some sort. Those sites that allow visitors to add their own material to the site in particular can use such a system so as to assist other visitors in determining what meaning to give to information provided by past visitors. This book is essential reading for anyone who has made the decision to add or is considering addin a reputation system of some sort to their site.
This book will present you with a number of options as to the type of reputation system that you might add to your site and the pros and cons of each of the possible systems with different types of sites. The book presents real life examples of where these sorts of systems have worked and where they had unexpected results. With this information you will be able to decide whether in fact a reputation system of some sort is likely to be appropriate for your site and will also give you an idea of what sort of reputation system it should be. While there are no guarantees, at least considering the material in this book will greatly improve the chance that the reputation system you eventually add to your site is more likely than not to achieve the desired result. The book will also help with fine tuning the system if it doesn't behave quite the way you expected.
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