Feedback Aggregation

Feedback Aggregation comprises a system that collects myriad individual user inputs and condenses them into a single, quantitative score. It is widely used across the internet to enable platforms to delegate the task of ranking and suggesting content. Rather than building intricate systems for evaluating and ranking content, platforms can leverage the collective insights of their users. This crowdsourced wisdom can often yield reliable average recommendations for content, places, or ideas.

However, like all systems where one user can influence the actions or experience of others, feedback aggregation is susceptible to manipulation and abuse. Bad actors can game the system, skewing results to their favor, be it through spamming positive reviews for their products or disparaging competitors. Furthermore, these aggregated scores, while providing a general consensus, often fail to address the needs of specialized or niche requirements - receiving recommended content based on averages is counter to the needs of users with non-average requirements, like mobility issues.

When it is appropriately protected, and combined with other sets of features (like filtering, additional mechanisms for structured feedback, and robust counter-abuse measures), Feedback Aggregation can represent the best of the internet: a decentralization of authority that yields collective wisdom at scale.