Timely article in the Merc considering that I wrote about reputation just today. I always find it curious that people look at Ebay’s reputation system as a model, or refer to it as sophisticated. Insofar as a true reputation system it has to be absolutely primitive because it puts far too much power in the hands of those reviewing the seller, and fails to provide any dispute resolution process. A few years back I sold something on Ebay and the woman that bought it clearly didn’t understand what she was buying because when she received the item in question she flamed me in the feedback. But I was essentially powerless to do anything about it, aside from enter a comment in response to her feedback… but that’s about as effective as getting a newspaper correction on page D36.

Take a look at Rapleaf for a reputation system that is portable, meaning you take it with you regardless of what site you are on. Ebay and others will fight this tooth and nail, but in the end I believe that portable reputation systems that are independent of a specific site make so much more sense than proprietary system in a walled garden.

UPDATE: In looking at this blog post it is evident that Ebay is planning some much needed changes to their feedback system.

MercuryNews.com | 08/08/2006 | A year-long battle to get comments removed from eBay:

Afterward, it was too late. EBay will not remove feedback unless it receives a court order finding that the disputed feedback is “slanderous, libelous, defamatory or otherwise illegal.”

Technorati Tags: Ebay, Rapleaf, Reputation