eBay is a unique online space that relies on a fabric of trust amongst its users. eBay’s users must trust other anonymous users to pay on time and sell genuine goods from others across the world. People come to know this norm through eBay’s Leviathan: user feedback. Once a transaction is placed, both users may leave positive, negative, or neutral feedback for their partners, changing their feedback score respectively. This approach ensures all feedback scores arose from completed transactions and have legitimate roots. This contradicts many other forms of online feedback such as instant messenger warning and reporting pictures on Facebook; on eBay the feedback is controlled.
The feedback Leviathan enforces trust through accessible and public “permanent records” of user feedback. Compared to many other online spaces, eBay users have free access to a person’s feedback history with detailed comments from other users. Most feedback histories contain 99% positive comments, with lots of enthusiastic comments, evincing the strong sense of trust in the eBay community. Many comments say they would trade with the user again, and/or the user paid “lighting” fast or shipped their product “lightning” fast. Any feedback histories without “lighting” super powers, or with 99% positive scores elicit skepticism, and may deter people from transacting with the user in question. Thus, to remain an active trader on eBay, one must maintain an honest disposition and receive enthusiastic feedback.
Administrative thresholds also prevent users with little or negative feedback from conducting certain transactions. For example, a certain score is required to sell items directly at a given price. A higher score is required to open a virtual store, and at a certain point, the user is labeled a power seller. eBay’s Leviathan grants users responsibility with reputation as a way to foster and reward its honest and trusting social norm.
eBay implements the sign on the door as discussed by Wallace through its tutorial program for buyers and sellers. New users experience an interactive walkthrough of the online environment before they hit the trading floor, teaching them the appropriate behaviors and norms adopted in the community. Should the user fail to pay on time or wait too long to ship a good, the arched brow will arrive in the form of a negative feedback score. eBay accommodates for new users, as the offended user will see the offender has no feedback history, and may mildly lecture the offender on proper behavior. This is analogous to Wallace’s experience in taking armor in a MUD, not knowing it was stealing. She was reproached by a witness, and explained that she was new to the game. The offended user understood the situation and excused the behavior. In eBay, one doesn’t need to tell another user that he or she is new: its visible as an assessment signal from the feedback score. Repeated violations however will not be taken as mildly, as offended users will not restrain in tarnishing an experienced user’s feedback score for failing to pay or ship properly.
In addition to the feedback scores, eBay also has a “mortal god,” as Wallace describes. Should a situation go out of control, the user can report the incident to eBay directly and have a moderator ban, remove, or suspend a user from the community as well as take appropriate legal actions. Interestingly, the community may not fall into anarchy as LamdaMOO did if this “mortal god” were removed. The moderators act as a secondary and more extreme layer of protection to feedback scores. Users can “toad” one another by leaving negative feedback, which can be very effective in a world where 99% positive feedback is the norm. However, unlike LambdaMOO, the moderators deal with severe cases as opposed to holding the sole ability to “toad” a user. This duality of a Leviathan has held the eBay community together for years and continues to do so as the online marketplace continues to thrive.
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Hey Steve,
Great Post! I thought it was interesting how you analyzed the eBay feedback system as a form of the Leviathan. Indeed, the system exhibits all of the major features of the Leviathan, such as the sign on the door, the mortal god, and the arched brow, all of which you discussed in your post. What is truly interesting is that the eBay feedback system was probably the first of its kind to show up on the Internet, and it still holds up incredibly well today. This is likely due to the fact that we are so willing to put our faith in the system that we accept it (good or bad) in order to allow the existence of such a marketplace. This phenomenon is described by Richard Mackinnon’s suggestion that people willingly relinquish certain freedoms in order to preserve the value and orderliness of the medium. We trust the system because of its proven efficiency, even though we voluntarily open ourselves up to criticism and potential abuse from others. However, Wallace points out that reproaches become necessary in an anonymous environment in order to enforce conformity, a trait essential to the existence of sites like eBay. Anyway, great job writing your post and coming up with such an interesting topic.
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