Reputation-based system

Definition
A reputation-based system typically shows one of the two following main structure models (a compromise between these two extremes is also possible):


 * Centralized model: a central authority collects reputation scores (from other entities and using other sources such as its own observation), typically processes them to form an aggregated reputation score for a given entity, and then redistributes this reputation score for use by other entities. Online trading and market communities use this model.
 * Decentralized model: the entities participating in the community share the reputationinformation, without the need for a central repository. This model is more suitable for networks that are decentralised by nature, such as peer-to-peer and autonomic systems. It also allows peers to assign different trust values to different sources of reputation scores.