Reputations

As a decentralized protocol, Aemula utilizes verifiable, immutable, onchain reputations associated with each user as an input into platform interactions and algorithms, as well as determining platform permissions.

User Reputations on Aemula

For the Aemula Protocol to operate programmatically without a central authority, we rely on calculated user reputations to determine a user's weight in platform interactions, moderation decisions, recommendation algorithms, governance rights, and platform permissions.

While Aemula remains in beta testing prior to the release of our dynamic reputation system, Aemula utilizes a simplified mechanism to determine user reputations. We currently use four different reputations for users:

Unauthenticated Users

Users that do not have an account or are not signed into their account have no reputation. They are able to access public pages and view public content previews, but they are unable to interact with the Aemula Protocol.

Trial Users

Users that are currently in their 2-week free trial period have the same access permissions as a paid subscriber. However, since free trial users only have a maximum of 2-weeks of interaction history and it is possible for one person to create multiple trial accounts, Trial Users have a reduced reputation weight of 0.67 (33% lower than paid subscribers) in platform interactions.

Paid Subscribers

Users with active paid subscriptions have access to read all content on the platform. Paid Subscribers can publish via the Aemula Protocol, but their content must first pass a peer-editorial review before it goes live in circulation. They receive an equal reputation weight of 1 in platform interactions.

Trusted Publishers

Trusted Publishers are active Paid Subscribers that have successfully published at least 3 pieces of content or linked an active Substack for cross-posting. Through social proof or platform track records, they have shown that they are real, unique people that can be trusted to publish freely without spam or harmful content.

Trusted Publishers have all of the same access permissions as Paid Subscribers, but they can also publish content directly via the Aemula Protocol without the requirement of a peer-editorial review. Trusted Publishers also receive access to the Aemula Signal Group for coordination and collaboration with other Trusted Publishers on Aemula.

Trusted Publishers are designated with a "Trusted" checkmark badges as shown on their Author Card and Publication page.

Any questions not answered here? Please reach out to support@aemula.com and we will do our best to answer them as soon as possible.