 |
Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
 |
RapLeaf, Whuffie and Strakh
RapLeaf is a website that offers visitors the opportunity to look up the "reputation" of individuals using their email addresses. It is also possible to leave feedback that affects the reputation of others.

(RapLeaf.com)
The RapLeaf.com site provides an interface for you to enter someone's email, and then provide a rating that is positive, negative or neutral. You are also asked to designate the nature of your interaction with that person (buyer, seller, swapper, friend), and provide a short comment to "give a qualitative aspect to the rating."

(RapLeaf rating)
Once you've entered your rating, an email is sent to the person you just rated, giving them an opportunity to rate you.
RapLeaf sounds a lot like Whuffie, the digital reputation system found in Cory Doctorow's 2003 novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. In the novel, all of the necessities and most of the luxuries of life are free for the taking, based to some extent on a person's Whuffie.
Whuffie is a kind of score, or measurement of reputation, based on the favorable or unfavorable opinions of all the people you meet. Push to the front of a coffee shop line and demand your brew - you lose Whuffie. Compose a new song, or write a well-received short story - you gain Whuffie. Whuffie substitutes for money in this post-scarcity economy.
Whuffie recaptured the true essence of money: in the old days, if you were broke but respected, you wouldn't starve; contrariwise, if you were rich and hated, no sum could buy you security and peace.
(Read more about whuffie)
Readers of Jack Vance will probably remember strakh, the social system on the Titanic littoral of the planet Sirene in Vance's brilliant 1976 story The Moon Moth. Food and resources are available in such abundance that money is meaningless; what matters is social standing and interaction:
Intricacy in all things: intricate craftsmanship... intricate symbolism... and above all the fantastic intricacy of personal relationships. Prestige, face, mana, repute, glory: the Sirenese word is strakh. Every man has his characteristic strakh, which determines, when he needs a houseboat, whether he will be urged to avail himself of a floating palace... or grudgingly permitted an abandoned shack on a raft. There is no medium of exchange on Sirene; the single and sole currency is strakh.
(Read more about strakh)
Via Bruce; see the RapLeaf.com web site (you can use bc@technovelgy.com if you want to affect my RapLeaf rep).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/18/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.
| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories -
("
Culture
")
Animated Tumblebugs On Astounding Cover!
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1948.
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...' - Frank Herbert, 1964.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
|
 |
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'
Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet —
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
'What's it do?' he asked. 'It amuses.'
Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'
Are AIs Going Rogue Like Hal 9000
'I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me...'
Animated Tumblebugs On Astounding Cover!
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'
More SF in the News Stories
More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories
|
 |