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 🙏
1,000 sats paid 15 times
MaxAWebster's bounties
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. 🤣
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153 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 13 Mar
Yeah @kr heard about it from him and I heard about it from @kr.
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Would love a part II @k00b! Really enjoyed this one :)
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110 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 13 Mar
I gave part 2 at TABConf. Demo is still running https://charlottesweboftrust.com
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 13 Mar
Tidwell did it again 🤣
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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.
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1077 sats \ 3 replies \ @sime 12 Mar
Vexl, I used it just yesterday.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @nout 13 Mar
Vexl is great. Shame that it is limited to only some countries.
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Haven't tried it, but looks cool!
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @sime 13 Mar
It's non profit, and recently got a grant from OpenSats.
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I would recommend Open PGP Dcumentation It's quite comprehensive and to the the point for learning purposes. It defines WoT
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yup, this
I'm going to make WoT calculations very easy from NDK. What I wrote for wikifreedia was a very barebones implementation.
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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.
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O man that's awesome! Can't wait :)
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69 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 12 Mar
Jon is a beast 🔥🔥🔥
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17 ! ahahahahah @sn shame :)
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Please, don't blame me 🤣
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The fault doesn't lie with you or SN. It lies with SN's followers. 🤣
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This is where WoT can absolutely fall short. Naive implementations that claim to be "the best" are easily gameable or is full of holes.
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Good point - ideally we have a free market of competing WoT algos. Then WoT for ranking WoTs ;)
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sequoia-wot

Have a look at this as well. It's interesting.
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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.
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This is excellent! I had no idea either group existed. Thank you 🙏
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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.
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Makes sense! Do you have a favorite starting paper?
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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.
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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.
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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 🤙)
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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
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121 sats \ 0 replies \ @dk 13 Mar
bitclout, but better friend.tech, but better study history and improve upon the patterns
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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:
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.
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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.
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Hyphanet which used to be freenet has some illustrations on the point.
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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.
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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.
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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'?
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1000 sats \ 1 reply \ @hodlbod_fr 13 Mar
Edit: someone already posted what I had to say
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Assuming this is the real hodlbod, bounty definitely applies for actually building this in Coracle - great work!
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