Through it’s Developer Network, Yahoo! has just released a nice set of design patterns for reputation systems. I have some issues with some of the language and patterns, but overall, I think they put together a really great typology.

My biggest beef is with the most ‘meta’ pattern that they call the ‘Competitive Spectrum‘. I understand the desire to simplify, but in my view, these 5 things are not really on the same spectrum at all. I think the ‘combative’ type is off in a corner of its own - a corner that really doesn’t exist much on the web. As for the other four, I can’t make out what the axis is that they vary on - overall level of competition doesn’t make sense to me. Yahoo! seems to realize the confusion themselves, as they include a variety of caveats in their description of the spectrum.

I really agree with Bryce Glass (one of the patterns’ creators), who points out that these patterns are pretty ubiquitous now, and so simply pointing them out isn’t enough. It’s how they’re used - or more specifically how intelligently they’re used - that will make them powerful. I think Yahoo! still has some work to do to provide best practices for implementing these patterns intelligently. Obviously, given my interests, I’d like to see them look at some of the underlying social psychological processes, and use them to make some informed recommendations. Also, I think designers really need an accessible way to understand the ‘corruption effect of extrinsic motivation’ (or, as economists call it, ‘crowding out’). I would argue that in many contexts when incentives like the ones Yahoo! lays out don’t work as expected, the corruption effect is a big reason why. But, all in all, its a great start. (Note that my opinion is in no way influenced by the fact that I’m an intern at Yahoo! this summer… heh)

(Thanks to Ben for the tip!)