Re: [cdin] Re: Distributed Data

Greg Stein (gstein nospam at lyra.org)
Tue, 09 Mar 1999 13:14:50 -0800

Kyle R. Rose wrote:
> I wrote:
> > However: we still need a model for editing entries that arrive at the
> > server. Or some other policy mechanism to keep the data clean and valid.
> > I don't think we've seen anything like that proposed so far.
>
> Here's one thing to consider: I was thinking about it last night, and
> the first-come, first-served method of entering data may be the best
> one after all, if we're trying to avoid trolls.
>
> Why?
>
> Because the hash function required to insert data into the database is
> one-way. This means that a troll cannot reasonably be expected to
> know the hash value of ANY CD that he does not possess -- even CDs
> that won't exist for millenia! Since it is reasonable to expect that
> only a person who likes the CD is going to rush out, buy it, and put
> it into their DMI/CDDP+/whatever-enabled player, they aren't going to
> enter crap into the database. (Of course, they may just be
> brain-dead, stupid, or poor spellers, but I'm not sure there's a way
> around this short of creating a trust system for "reliable" data
> providers.)
>
> For this reason, I would support a system that, by default, enables
> users to add fields, but not change or delete existing ones. There
> may actually be better systems, but I feel this is a strong argument
> for the first-come, first-served approach.

Woo! Give that man the gold star! :-)

You're right on.

Got think on whether it would be reasonable to assume that a number of
people would volunteer to be an "editing" group to process spelling
errors and whatnot, as your trusted network. Certainly, though, the
group would need to be pretty large to distribute the load well :-)
(even then, I'm not sure it is feasible)

Note: a troll could extract the identifier from a fuzzy search. This is
where the submittor email comes in handy. That is *never* published, so
it acts like a password...

Oh. Damn. The database is distributed to any who want it. Therefore, all
of the identifier info and email info is available for trolls to access.

*grumble*

Maybe that won't work either...

It looks like we can only have "write-once" entries. After that, then we
probably need to rely on trusted editors.

Cheers,
-g

--
Greg Stein, http://www.lyra.org/