Trust Connections

a.k.a the more "meaningful hashtags"?

To explain "trust connections" we can use an already quite familiar concept: the hashtag.

A hashtag is a simple string of letters in a certain language that means certain things / associations to certain groups of people / contexts. [...]

The thing is though: anyone can simply use any hashtag in order to describe something. Say, I post a picture and can add the hashtag "#nofilter" to it to let others know that I haven't added any filters to my image. But: is that true? How can I know if someone claiming to not have added any filters to an image using the hashtag #nofilter has really not added any filters to that image? And does a filter even mean the same thing for everyone? What if some people understand this hashtag in a way that there is no cigarett butt filter visible in that picture instead of referring the hastag to the term filter which we also know from image enhancements. [...]

So you see: it also depend on the context in which we interpret certain informations.

Trust Connections = The "More Meaningful Hashtags"?

Think of trust connections as „(more) meaningful hashtags“ — hashtags with certain requirements that people can only use / claim once they fulfill all of these requirements. [...]

Still: the task to interpret and make sense out of certain trust connections remains to be done be each and everyone of us. But: we think it's worth exploring the potential benefits (and pitfalls) of something like a more meaningful hashtag to see and explore in what way and to what extent they could enrich our life and help us interpret things and make sense out of them. [...]

Repetition: The Different User Roles involved

Stewards: get the right to decide in what direction to steward the hashtag (a.k.a what requirements to set for members). [...]

Members: get the right to join once they fulfill all requirements and the right to use the hashtag [...]