Basic WoT protocol focuses on the introduction of new trust worthy members. This focus is a growth first phase of a fledgling network seeking a critical amount of adoption to perpetuate, in an early stage of protocol development. Members may invite a candidate, or a candidate may request permission to join a WoT Network, which requires sponsorship from one or more confirmed members. This assumes an initialisation of the WoT network with uncontested founding members and the ability for members and candidates to connect outside the network and bring their connection inside.
Each confirmed member has a connection score based on number of direct connections with other members. Members are also connected through intermediate members, at least one directly connected member in common to both, or connected by more than one degree of intermediating connections. Intermediated connections have a score considered a likelihood of Trust.
Membership is an embedded profile in a connection network, a proxy for unique identity with sufficient agency. An agency for what? Trust for what? Just for adding to the membership? Strength of connection, a proximity and likelihood of trust, could be used for what purposes? A WoT network is a foundation for more complex interaction and behaviour between members.
A further stage of WoT protocol development not only allows for more complex interactions but can also measure another dimension of trust discovered through agency behaviour. Agency behaviour can build greater trust or reputation but it can also damage reputation and potentially repair damage. This factor of trust could be considered resilience, a more complex stage of WoT protocol development. Resilience measurement and feedback is actually a sustainability layer for the WoT protocol. Resilience is an important aspect of trust, it adds a dimension of contingency to the strength of connections among members in a network.
Members require a measure of trust in their complex web of trust. Members require an ability to endure bad actors, to rely on imperfect connections and unpredictable agency behaviour, a diverse use of a shared protocol. Web of a trust protocol will be required to serve as a proxy for reliable and repairable connections. A proxy for measuring likelihood of trust and pruning bad connections, adjustment of consent and proximity to risk and consequences, as well as to the benefits of participation in a larger network.
Author Jason Lee Lasky