Social punishment 3/3: reputation systems Social punishment works because individuals know that someone has broken rules, and _voluntarily_ cooperate with enforcing the accused's punishment. (Of course part of the reason is the risk of similar punishment for non-cooperation, but a major part, particularly in cybercrimes, is that if an individual could harm someone else, he or she could harm you too.) Social punishment works through reputation. XXX, after breaking rules, is seen to be a 'bad character'. Soon everyone knows XXX as a 'bad character' and behaves accordingly, usually by avoiding contact. Once XXX gets a bad REPUTATION (and this is how _I_ define the term, not as some centrally imposed certificate), in traditional societies it is very difficult for XXX to regain a good one. People _individually_ decide whether a 'bad character' is indeed 'bad' and depending on the stature of the individual and the bad character, may or may not cooperate with any punishment. A priest in traditional society or someone else with impeccable reputation is permitted to interact with even the worst of characters. One problem with such a wildfire reputation system is it can be _too_ effective. Once ostracized, the decentralized system makes it very difficult for someone to rejoin society, to have his/her 'reformation' recognized. The channels in traditional societies include lots of 'good work' and recommendation by 'good citizens' such as the priest etc. The other is a new identity. The most powerful illustration of a reputation system I can think of is Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, where ex-convict Jean Valjean finds himself ostracized by society despite having been released. A priest's kindness is not enough, and he later gains a very good reputation building an industry. The notable thing is that he rejoins society only when he gets a _new identity_ - and later gets back into prison when his old identity is discovered. This is a strong case for universal pseudonymity - BAN TRUE NAMES - which, together with strong voluntary reputation and social punishment systems can form the basis for cyberspatial order. I can't really say as yet how a cyberspace reputation system should be implemented. Old-timers will recognize the distinction between my proposed voluntary reputation and certification - the difference between PGP and central public key directories. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rishab Aiyer Ghosh "Clean the air! clean the sky! wash the wind! rishab@dxm.ernet.in take stone from stone and wash them..." Voice/Fax/Data +91 11 6853410 Voicemail +91 11 3760335 H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA