With a community-generated database, the question of trust is crucial. When looking at a particular piece of information, you want to know -- who contributed this? How do I know they are who they say they are? Why should I trust that they are correct, or not trying to mislead me? All of these questions hinge upon an effective identity and reputation system.

An underlying social network will provide the framework for identity and reputation for the Transparent Federal Budget. All database contributions will be tied to a social network user identity, and all social network user identities will have a variety of peer-verified reputation information visible to the public. Peer-verified reputation information is verified by other users on the social network; examples might include an affirmation of the user's identity, a confirmation of past employment, a written testimonial, or a record of their contributions to the Transparent Federal Budget project.

An effective identity and reputation system not only makes the information in the database more credible -- it sets up the right incentives for a healthy community. People can help their reputation by contributing to the database, or hurt it by acting in an unconstructive manner.
 

The Transparent Federal Budget will be built upon a newly-developed, open source social networking platform. The transparency of our open source approach is crucial; identity and reputation are elements of trust, and in the long run, we don't believe that people will trust a software platform that is not open.