Ethos Network’s New Proposal Suggests Integration Of Community Sentiment To Enhance Reputation Score System

Platform focused on building trust within the Web3 space, Ethos Network has put forward a new proposal aimed at refining its Reputation Score system. Specifically, the proposal suggests updating the “Review Impact” element by factoring in community sentiment—meaning that each review’s influence on the overall score would vary depending on how the community responds through upvotes and downvotes. This adjustment seeks to give the community more control over which reviews carry more weight, potentially minimizing the effect of less credible or unpopular feedback while strengthening the value of positively received reviews.

The proposal is currently open for voting until April 21st. As of now, a majority—36 votes—are in favor of the change.

As outlined in the proposal, the current reputation system within Ethos Network assigns weight to reviews based primarily on the reviewer’s reputation score (ELO) and the sentiment expressed—whether positive, negative, or neutral. However, the system currently lacks a mechanism for the broader community to provide real-time validation or challenge the influence of individual reviews. To address this gap, the proposal introduces a method for incorporating community feedback directly into the review weighting process, offering a form of decentralized oversight.

This new system would allow community members to downvote reviews they believe are misleading, biased, or of low quality, effectively reducing those reviews’ impact on reputation scores. By factoring in the collective agreement or disagreement through votes, the platform aims to make the scoring process more resilient and representative of community consensus. This also helps reduce the reliance on centralized moderation or appeals by embedding a form of automated, community-driven moderation.

Rather than applying a strict filter to remove contested reviews entirely, the proposal favors a more nuanced approach. This means that reviews with mild disagreement—such as one or two downvotes—would still influence the score, albeit less than those with strong community backing. Reviews would only be diminished or nullified when there is a clear threshold of disapproval, ensuring that a small number of dissenting votes don’t silence valid contributions.

The system is designed to maintain a balance between the reviewer’s individual reputation (ELO) and the broader community’s perception of the review’s value. It ensures that while the author’s standing remains important, the community’s feedback also plays a direct role in determining how much a review shapes the final reputation score.

Ethos V3 Introduces Community Sentiment Adjustment To Refine Review Impact On Reputation Scores

The V3 Review Impact update introduces a new element called the Community Sentiment Adjustment, which modifies how much influence a review has on a reputation score. While the review’s baseline impact is still determined by comparing the reputations (ELO scores) of the reviewer and the subject, the actual weight is now also shaped by how the community responds through upvotes and downvotes. If a review is well-received—with more upvotes than downvotes—it keeps its full calculated influence. If the community strongly disagrees with a review, reflected by a large net number of downvotes that exceeds a set threshold (such as five), the review’s influence is removed entirely from the score calculation. For cases with moderate disagreement—where downvotes don’t meet the full threshold—the influence of the review is reduced proportionally. This means the more net downvotes a review receives (without surpassing the threshold), the less it contributes to the subject’s score.

This system is designed to ensure that a review’s impact aligns with broader community perception. It helps prevent isolated or biased opinions from having outsized effects, while still preserving the ability of diverse views to contribute meaningfully when they reflect general consensus.

Launched in January, Ethos Network is working to establish a decentralized “proof of credibility” framework, where trust is demonstrated through an on-chain vouching system. In this system, users can stake funds to back the credibility of others, creating financial incentives for honesty and integrity. These stakes are not locked and can be withdrawn at any time, allowing for flexible participation. According to Ethos Network, the platform encourages users to contribute by earning through reputation building, supporting trustworthy peers, or flagging dishonest behavior. Each participant receives a credibility score—similar in concept to a credit score—but focused on a user’s reputation within the community. These scores are shaped by the activity and input of the platform’s most respected and involved members.