The power of Semantic Assertions is that you do not have register with Yet Another Social Network (YASN). Any website can serve an XML file with a list of assertions made by that community, and through a simple API it can even reply with a filtered list. Most smaller sites can simply reply with all assertions.
Each site can optionally join one or more other communities. Each assertion is made inside the site’s own interface but is then picked up by the community site(s). The assertions are aggregated by the community site and truth-values within the community are increased based other users actions and are then reported back to the site of origin.
Any number of communities can be joined in multiple layers via this method, but doing so requires a degree of trust between the sites. Another method for joining information between communities is for individual members to assert trust in members from other communities. This is a much safer method. It allows your community to choose just the outsiders they trust and each member gets an individual level of trust. If they abuse it they lose it, without penalizing the whole community.
The other issue to resolve is the difference between tags used on one site and those used by the other, but this can also be handled by a few well place assertions. This is the same method that is for joining tags inside a community. Asserting that tags are similar gives the computer the ability to recognize synonyms and antonyms. Which make searches much more useful.
Click here for part 1, if you missed it.
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