What are the best resources for learning about Web of Trust? \ stacker news ~ideasfromtheedge

What are the best resources for learning about Web of Trust?

3326 sats \ 42 comments \ @MaxAWebster 12 Mar ideasfromtheedge

I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the next big thing after Bitcoin is Decentralized Identity and Web of Trust. I know that @k00b has written and spoken about using WoT on Stacker News. And @brugeman has written about using it on nostr.band. But that's all I've really seen.

Who else is experimenting with building a web of trust? Particularly around Nostr? It seems like building a naive WoT based on who follows whom would be a good starting point.

What other resources would you recommend to learn more? Thanks 🙏

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1130 sats \ 5 replies \ @Car 12 Mar

@BitcoinErrorLog was the original bitcoiner I personally remember discussing back in 2021

Also here is a workshop @k00b gave at PlebLab over a year ago on Web of Trust

Also @k00b you owe us Part II. 🤣

153 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 13 Mar

Yeah @kr heard about it from him and I heard about it from @kr.

20 sats \ 2 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

Would love a part II @k00b! Really enjoyed this one :)

110 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 13 Mar

I gave part 2 at TABConf. Demo is still running https://charlottesweboftrust.com

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 13 Mar

Tidwell did it again 🤣

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cascdr 24 Mar

TLDR generated in about 25s from our YouTube Agent:

TLDR: The video discusses the concept of a web of trust, where users can determine trust levels based on preferences and relationships, ultimately influencing content ranking.

Trust is defined as a firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.
Web of trust is a decentralized reputation system that scales trust in a group setting.
Users can influence ranking based on trust levels and preferences of others in the network.
The use of binomial proportion interval allows for statistical confidence in trust calculations.
The trust graph helps users broaden their perspectives by incorporating the preferences of others.
Transparency and explicitness in trust levels differentiate web of trust from centralized reputation systems.
Trust calculations are directional and consider indirect relationships to determine influence.
Users can choose the most trusted individual to make decisions based on multiple paths in the trust graph.

In the video, the discussion delves into the intricate workings of a web of trust, highlighting how trust levels and preferences can shape content ranking. By utilizing statistical methods and considering indirect relationships, users can make informed decisions on who to trust for various tasks. The transparency and scalability of web of trust offer a unique approach to decentralized reputation systems, ultimately influencing user experiences and content discovery.

1077 sats \ 3 replies \ @sime 12 Mar

Vexl, I used it just yesterday.

https://vexl.it/

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @nout 13 Mar

Vexl is great. Shame that it is limited to only some countries.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

Haven't tried it, but looks cool!

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @sime 13 Mar

It's non profit, and recently got a grant from OpenSats.

1175 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coinsreporter 12 Mar

I would recommend Open PGP Dcumentation It's quite comprehensive and to the the point for learning purposes. It defines WoT

1816 sats \ 3 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 12 Mar

Wikifreedia — Web-of-Trust Filter

1546 sats \ 2 replies \ @pablof7z__ 12 Mar

yup, this

I'm going to make WoT calculations very easy from NDK. What I wrote for wikifreedia was a very barebones implementation.

221 sats \ 0 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 12 Mar

I'm sure this would help. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the effort you have put into nostr and to say that I admire your work and the perseverance you have shown.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

O man that's awesome! Can't wait :)

1018 sats \ 6 replies \ @devsou_com 12 Mar freebie

coracle.social has implemented this WoT score:

It states:

69 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 12 Mar

Jon is a beast 🔥🔥🔥

242 sats \ 4 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 12 Mar

17 ! ahahahahah @sn shame :)

74 sats \ 1 reply \ @devsou_com 12 Mar

Please, don't blame me 🤣

72 sats \ 0 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 12 Mar

The fault doesn't lie with you or SN. It lies with SN's followers. 🤣

420 sats \ 1 reply \ @TonyGiorgio 13 Mar

This is where WoT can absolutely fall short. Naive implementations that claim to be "the best" are easily gameable or is full of holes.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

Good point - ideally we have a free market of competing WoT algos. Then WoT for ranking WoTs ;)

1000 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coinsreporter 13 Mar

sequoia-wot

Have a look at this as well. It's interesting.

1000 sats \ 1 reply \ @TonyGiorgio 13 Mar

Rebooting the web of trust unconferences are pretty valuable. That and the internet identity forum in SF. Full of W3C people that continue to work on it over the last decade.

Rebooting is very paper writing focused, you can check out the latest repo to see final papers, drafts written during the event, and previous events. Lots of papers so pick out the ones with titles that makes sense first.

https://github.com/WebOfTrustInfo/rwot12-cologne

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

This is excellent! I had no idea either group existed. Thank you 🙏

1000 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 13 Mar

I usually search through academic literature for esoteric stuff like this. If you can find a decent paper, it'll have a ton of the greatest hits as references usually.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

Makes sense! Do you have a favorite starting paper?

1000 sats \ 4 replies \ @dk 12 Mar

I agree that a WoT is on the horizon somewhere. I think it's going to take more than just a technical solution. I suspect someone comes up with some novel idea to galvanize trust in a new form... "lightning in a bottle" kind of thing where playing with trust/relationships is core to some new service/approach/technique, not just a technology that does the smart thing. I'm interested to hear about anyone experimenting in this direction.

105 sats \ 3 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

Definitely agree! It will likely arise from some other novel experiment. Maybe the p2p BTC trading marketplace could bootstrap. Or some kind of game like a modern Second Life. Or something radically new like a dating or recruiting app based on someone's interactions across multiple Nostr apps.

121 sats \ 2 replies \ @dk 13 Mar

those are all good examples of concepts/areas to consider, imo. if i were to guess, i think something like a game is fertile ground. something simple and a little playful like friend.tech which has a natural status/hierarchy to the game play/mechanics. obviously needs to be more durable than that (and built on sound money 🤙)

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

Yea I like this idea! Simple, social, meaningful upside - seems like a good recipe.

I'm still waiting for someone to do something like Bitclout with Bitcoin as well

121 sats \ 0 replies \ @dk 13 Mar

bitclout, but better friend.tech, but better study history and improve upon the patterns

1000 sats \ 1 reply \ @nerd2ninja 12 Mar

Web of trust is older than Bitcoin, therefore it can not come after Bitcoin.

The web of trust concept was first put forth by PGP creator Phil Zimmermann in 1992 in the manual for PGP version 2.0:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_of_trust

Because the price is high right now, scammers are working extra hard to convince people that their snake oil is the next big thing "after Bitcoin". I suspect someone may have sold you on this idea.

Remember that this is their play and update your scam sniff test with this signature. If " the next bitcoin" "after bitcoin" "just like bitcoin" or any attempt at association with bitcoin rather than trying to stand on its own merits, its probably a grift or a scam.

300 sats \ 0 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

O for sure! Perhaps I didn't phrase well, but I think bitcoin will be much more useful once we have Internet native decentralized identity to use it. And while showcasing WoT with PGP keys was a great demonstration, afaik it still hasn't caught on at any meaningful scale and I think that will change soon. My guess is somehow boostrapped on top of Nostr.

1000 sats \ 0 replies \ @IamSINGLE 12 Mar

GNU Privacy Guard Sample Configuration

1000 sats \ 0 replies \ @03d99caedc 12 Mar

Hyphanet which used to be freenet has some illustrations on the point.

1000 sats \ 0 replies \ @ch0k1 12 Mar

I would definitely recommend the official GnuPG documentation.

Yeah I know - it's an old school web 1.0 informational webiste but it outlines the basics of the Web of Trust concept.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cascdr 24 Mar

Agreed Max. Once this idea fully gets traction, the LinkedIn type middlemen are done for.

Would I rather have a certificate locked behind LinkedIn's walled garden or one directly attested to by someone like @niftynei + our social graphs? It's a no brainer.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @watchmancbiz 14 Mar

I recently started utilizing the WoT browser plugin again, but I'm still skeptical of it, mostly regarding how they safeguard browsing data & privacy. Are they sold out to 'the powers that think they be'?

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @hodlbod_fr 13 Mar

deleted by author

1000 sats \ 1 reply \ @hodlbod_fr 13 Mar

Edit: someone already posted what I had to say

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @MaxAWebster OP 13 Mar

Assuming this is the real hodlbod, bounty definitely applies for actually building this in Coracle - great work!