Tracking contributions by individuals allows for the calculation of metrics of commitment and reliability that may provide a basis for trust.
For example, an individual who makes prolific contributions that attract few edits could be assigned a high score, and given a role as moderator or gate-keeper. Adler and de Alfaro (2007) proposed a reputation system for Wikipedia as a way to evaluate authors’ reliability according to the lifespan of their edits. Wikimapia provides extensive data on the contributions of individuals, and assigns them awards and a hierarchy of roles and responsibilities. For example, the role of Advanced User “is awarded to a member of Wikimapia who has good standing and it provides additional tools and responsibilities to take care of Wikimapia. It is given by the Wikimapia Team members mostly on the recommendations of the other Advanced Users”. Separate awards are given for prolific creating and editing of places and roads, and for adding large numbers of photographs to feature descriptions. Of course being prolific does not necessarily equate with being accurate. Ideally, the hierarchy of the reviewers should also vary from place to place, as local residents tend to have first-hand knowledge.