> This is a good idea, except that it assumes _reputation_ has some directional value upon which everyone agrees.
Reputation is inherently subjective. I think any technological solution that treats reputation as an objective value that's the same for everyone won't work if applied to any kind of diverse community, but I don't see any problem with a technical solution that computes a high reputation score for that TV star among his fans, and a low score among people who aren't fans.
(It's also sometimes worthwhile to consider negative reputation, which behaves differently than positive reputation in some ways. Not all communities should have reputation systems that have a concept of negative reputation, but in some kinds of communities it might be necessary.)
Reputation is inherently subjective. I think any technological solution that treats reputation as an objective value that's the same for everyone won't work if applied to any kind of diverse community, but I don't see any problem with a technical solution that computes a high reputation score for that TV star among his fans, and a low score among people who aren't fans.
(It's also sometimes worthwhile to consider negative reputation, which behaves differently than positive reputation in some ways. Not all communities should have reputation systems that have a concept of negative reputation, but in some kinds of communities it might be necessary.)