You can add or remove a person from your Web of Trust by clicking the link on their profile page or on a review they have written. You can view a list of all of the members you trust by clicking on the "Web of Trust" link on your account summary, where you will be given the option to remove any of those members. The same setup exists for people you choose to block.

The trust function:

1. effects an incremental increase in the trustee's rating power. Said increase is magnified in those categories in which the truster (you) is either a Category Lead or an Advisor.

    

2. automatically places any and all reviews by the trustee at or near the top of the list of reviews on a given topic as viewed by the truster. It also factors into review ranking when viewed by other members or nonmembers, but the overall review rating, the number of ratings, and the presence of a TR hat are still the key components.

    

3. adds weight to the trustee's Web of Trust. The truster passes along some of their power to people they trust, thereby increasing the trustees influence when they trust or block a member.

    

4. contributes to the potential of the trustee being awarded a hat.

There are many different opinions on this matter, and the criteria you use is entirely your decision.

Generally speaking, you should trust people that you feel are an asset to Epinions, whether it's from their reviews, ratings, comments, or whatever. Your trust should be a reward for that person's contributions to the site. Subsequently, it is important that you do not indiscriminately hand out your trust, such as trusting a person only because they trust you. Trust is for people that are trying to make Epinions a better place.

Trusting a member will increase their influence on Epinions. They will have greater rating weight, more prominent review placement, a stronger WoT, and they'll be more likely to gain a hat. Trusting a person does not directly improve your standing on Epinions, but due to the interconnectedness of the Web of Trust, it will lead to a better Epinions when done with discretion.

To hide your Web of Trust from public view, click on the "Edit Public Profile" link from your account summary. Uncheck the box at the bottom of the page labeled "Display your Web of Trust to the public" and submit the changes. Allow some time for the change to take effect across the site.

Other members will not be able to view a list of members you trust and your user name won't appear on the lists of those you trust.

Several well-respected members on epinions hide their Web of Trust to avoid popularity contests on epinions, while others feel that hiding your Web of Trust is suspicious. The bottom line is that epinions gives you the option to hide your Web of Trust and that it's your choice and your choice alone to hide or display it. No matter which choice you make, you'll be in good company.

Although some members have devised little tricks that can help suggest who blocks you, it is still guess work. There is no real way to find out who blocks you.

The block function:

1. effects an incremental reduction in the blockee's rating power. Said reduction is increased in those categories in which the blocker is either a Category Lead or an Advisor.

    

2. automatically places any and all reviews by the blockee at the bottom of the list of reviews on a given topic as viewed by the blocker. It does not otherwise alter review ranking when viewed by other members or nonmembers (contrary to a widely held belief).

    

3. hides any and all of the blockee's contributions to the site (including ratings, comments, reviews, and message board postings) from the blocker. This function is enabled only if the blocker has unchecked the box marked "Allow me to view members on my block list" on his/her Site Settings page.

    

4. contributes to the potential of a community block on the blockee.

Blocking someone does not have any discernible effect on the blockee's actions and capabilities on the site, for doing so would make it apparent to the blockee that the blocker had done so. Blocking is intentionally a secret transaction, so the site's interface gives no outward evidence that it has taken place

There are almost as many answers to that question as there are members of Epinions.

The most common uses of the block function are:

1. abusive members. Also known as 'trolls', these members aren't generally interested in improving Epinions. They are likely to frequently violate the TOS in their reviews and interactions with other members. They may also unfairly down-rate or revenge-rate; they may also attack other members in comments or on the message boards.

    

2. a 'no' vote for hatted members. While not everyone agrees that this is a fair use of the block function, it is one way to express displeasure in the job that a particular Lead, Advisor or Top Reviewer is doing.

    

3. to hide a member from view. If you don't want to see any reviews or comments by a particular member, the block function can hide that member from view as described in #3 above.

If enough members choose to block someone, the cumulative effect may be a site-wide or 'community block'. Members who are community blocked have all of their reviews as well as their user page hidden from the general public.

You are the only member who can see your block list. Not even Category Leads can see it. Category Leads can see the raw count of Advisors and Leads who block those members who are most active in their given category, but have no access to the names of the blocking members.

The block list is private so that members can voice their dissent without suffering negative repercussions, and so that members don’t feel pressured to block users that others have blocked. For more information on blocking, see scmrak’s article "The Last Word on the Block Button."

Members who are community blocked are not visible to epinions nonmembers. To find out whether or not you are community blocked, the easiest way to do this is to use the "Pricetool Trick."

Go to your profile page, and in the URL replace 'epinions' with 'pricetool' and hit enter. If you are community blocked, your public profile will not display and instead a message stating you are community blocked will appear. If you do see your regular public profile, you are not community blocked.

First, make sure that you are really community blocked by following the steps above. If you are sure you are community blocked, you can take several steps to have the block removed and restore your name on Epinions.

In order to work towards having the block removed, you need to determine what caused the community to block you in the first place. Did you write offensive, racist or insensitive reviews or posts on the message boards? Are you inappropriately pasting links to your reviews in public forums or in the comment sections of others’ reviews? Is your profile page offensive? Have you been abusive off site, or are there other interactions you’ve had with the membership that have isolated you? Did you have a disagreement with a member that led to name calling or flame wars?

Chances are that the block won’t be lifted until these issues have been rectified, so try to figure out what the offending content or incidents are so that you can clarify your position or delete the offending material. Consider sending an email to one of the Advisors, message board Moderators, or other members who you are comfortable with and ask for their advice. Some members make their good intentions known on the message boards.

It’s up to you, but whatever you do, don’t create a new account on Epinions. It’s against the site rules to do so, and in many cases, members will be able to figure out what you’ve done and consider that more evidence against your case for community acceptance.

Some members believe that it is possible to be "category blocked." In effect, this means that a person has little to no rating weight in a particular category, as the result of being blocked by a certain proportion of people that frequent that category. Therefore, when a member places a rating, the review's overall rating may not change, even if it is the first rating.

Other members believe this occurence is partially a bug in the rating system, and simply because a member's rating does not have a visible influence, does not mean they are "category blocked."

Many members continually reevaluate their Web of Trust/Distrust in order to give blocked members who have changed their ways a second chance, or to ensure that those they trust are still still trust worthy. Other members rarely reevaluate their lists. Your Web of Trust and Web of Distrust (also known as your Block List) is completely subjective, but it plays a role in ranking the reviews you see while researching products and in the Advisor selection process.

The complete epinions FAQ on this topic appears here. In addition, numerous member advice pieces have been written on the topic, but be aware that community standards regarding the WOT have changed over the years.