How a Trust Score Changes Over Time
A Trust Score is a current reputation signal, not a permanent label. It changes when ratings are added, updated, withdrawn, or become older.
From Unrated to Broadly Supported
| Stage | What users see |
|---|---|
| No ratings | Trust is shown as 0 |
| First ratings | A numeric score appears, but it is intentionally cautious |
| Broader support | More independent raters allow the shared pattern to count more fully |
| Older support | The score remains visible, while older evidence gradually matters less |
| Fresh support | New or refreshed ratings update the current score |
HYFY does not replace the number with labels such as “Emerging” or “Established.” The visible score and the counts beside it work together: the number shows the current result, while Hypers, Traits, and Ratings show how much support sits behind it.
Time Decay
Ratings do not keep their full influence forever. HYFY gradually reduces the weight of older evidence so that recognition can stay connected to the present.
For people, time decay is intentionally slow. It does not erase old ratings or claim that someone has changed. It only says that an old endorsement provides less current evidence than a fresh one.
For the people scale, time alone cannot make the score rise. A strong old score can gradually soften toward the Chill baseline as confidence fades. Fresh ratings can then confirm or change the current picture.
The current decay pace depends on what is being rated:
| Profile type | Current decay pace | Why |
|---|---|---|
| People | Slow - roughly two years for old evidence to lose half its influence | Personal reputation should not change abruptly |
| Brands and pages | Medium - roughly one year | Products, services, and communities can change faster |
| Places | Faster - roughly six months | Venue experiences can change relatively quickly |
These are gradual confidence adjustments, not expiry dates. An old rating can remain part of the current evidence while carrying less influence than before. Decay is refreshed periodically, so a small time-based change may not appear the instant a rating becomes one day older.
Updates, Cooldowns, and Current Opinions
After submitting a rating, the reviewer has a limited period to correct it, subject to a frequency limit. Once that period ends, a cooldown must pass before a new rating for the same profile and trait can be submitted.
| Rating target | Correction window | Change frequency | New-rating cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| People | First 7 days | At most once every 24 hours | 3 months from the previous rating |
| Brands, pages, and places | First 30 days | At most once every 24 hours | 30 days from the previous rating |
| Action | Effect on the score |
|---|---|
| Update a rating | The revised opinion replaces the previous active value |
| Withdraw a rating | It stops contributing |
| Submit again after cooldown | The newest active opinion becomes the one that counts |
| Do nothing | The existing rating remains, with influence that gradually ages |
Only the latest active opinion from each reviewer on each trait contributes. Previous versions are retained for system integrity, but they are not counted as extra endorsements.
The lifecycle rules apply separately to each reviewer, profile, and trait. A reviewer can therefore recognize different traits without those ratings being treated as duplicate versions of one another.
What Can Move a Score?
A score can change because:
- a new person rates a trait,
- an existing reviewer updates or withdraws a rating,
- new traits or categories receive recognition, or
- existing evidence becomes older.
Small samples can move more noticeably than broad ones. That is why HYFY shows the score together with the number of Hypers, Traits, and Ratings.