# Should Discourse require reading to gain initial trust?

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/should-discourse-require-reading-to-gain-initial-trust/5081>\
**Category:** Site feedback\
**Created:** [2013年三月22日 18:04 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/should-discourse-require-reading-to-gain-initial-trust/5081 "2013-03-22T18:04:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 32

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**Author:** ![frandallfarmer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/frandallfarmer/32/102170_2.png) [@frandallfarmer](https://meta.discourse.org/u/frandallfarmer)\
**Post date:** [2013年五月4日 17:56 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/should-discourse-require-reading-to-gain-initial-trust/5081/32 "2013-05-04T17:56:40Z")

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> [@UniversityOfPI](#):
>
> Someone could easily setup a farming operation to quickly get level 2 accounts then PM spam everyone.

I don’t think so. That requires user participation that is approved (liked, not flagged, etc.) by the community - not something easily “bottable”. The trust system Discourse is building in resistance to such attacks.

Besides, is PM spamming an actual attack - or are you just postulating a possible attack? I hadn’t heard of this (or been the target of such) until you mention it here.

> [@UniversityOfPI](#):
>
> Trust level to a certain extent is topic dependent but if me scrolling through 50 posts earns enough trust to have level 1 rights then why can’t I, as a trusted user somewhere else, be given that basic level of trust.

Your two statements are mutually inconsistent - which is it? Is trust context (you say ‘topic’) dependent, or is it universal?

There is a separate topic on Per-Discourse-Topic trust:

[http://meta.discourse.org/t/user-trust-should-be-category-specific/5746](http://meta.discourse.org/t/user-trust-should-be-category-specific/5746)

> [@UniversityOfPI](#):
>
> Certainly using any other site qualifies me to use this one.

No (except for level 0 user features.)

Knowing supply-side economics has nothing to do with your ability to identify the hottest new Reggae bands.

Can you provide a successful example of this level of trust granted across multiple forums/communities anywhere on the internet? Perhaps then I can see what you mean by trust.

I remain confused by two seemingly contradicting things in your post:

1. Fear of botting to generate trust
2. Sharing trust across sites

Surely, you can see how sharing trust across sites makes _easier_ to circumvent built-in defenses against spammers. I just create a site with this open-source software that automatically gives me trust level X and then login to the Discourse sites I want to atttack. Whamm Bamm, Here’s My Spam! Delete my account and I’ll be right back!

* * *

I looked at the post here on trust levels, and see it is quite old. @codinghorror - do you think we should put something a little more up-to-date up here on Meta? It might help with some misconceptions…

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/should-discourse-require-reading-to-gain-initial-trust/5081)._