Validation Tiers

Each Estimate has three tiers of validation:

First Tier:

The validators in the first tier are randomly selected based on their expertise in project-related categories. These validators perform the most difficult task in validating the project; they assign the project a credibility score, category-related expertise score. Validators need to provide sources and justifications to back up their reviews.

Validators may also indicate their confidence level in the review. A lower confidence level would reduce the weight of their review (which is based on their category-related expertise score), and their expected compensation. However, it would also reduce the risk of being challenged or penalized for providing an inaccurate review. As the monetary and reputational penalty can outweigh any benefit of misrepresentation, validators always have the incentive to truthfully represent their level of expertise.

First-tier validators have an allotted time to complete their review. Since their task is the most difficult from all validation tiers, they receive the majority of the validation fee (and corresponding impact score).

Second Tier:

The validators in the second tier are randomly selected based on their expertise in project-related categories. After the allotted time for first-tier validation passes, second-tier validators review the work of the first tier validators and determine how the review of each validator should be weighed relative to each other (based on the quality and accuracy of the review) through Quadratic Voting, weighted by the expertise score of second-tier validators. If a review is inaccurate or fraudulent, validators can also vote to penalize the validator (and provide justification for the decision). Second tier validators are compensated for their work

To help ensure the quality of reviews, after the first stage of voting is done, second tier validators are then split into two groups (with roughly equal expertise scores) to review the work of each Validator from the other group for quality and accuracy, through Quadratic Voting. Each Validator would receive compensation and expertise scores (from the totals allotted to the second tier) based on the votes from the second stage. The weight of each validation would also be modulated by the second stage vote.

Third Tier:

The validators in the third tier are randomly selected with expertise in categories from across the ecosystem. These validations determine the impact score of the project through Quadratic Voting, based on the input they receive from the first and second tier validators. Similar to second tier validators, there is a second stage vote to modulate the initial vote and distribute compensation and expertise scores.