Trust & Reputation
Your standing on Wahalao — how it's earned, what it unlocks, and why the two axes are independent.
How trust works on Wahalao
Your account has two independent trust scores. They operate on completely separate axes and neither one can substitute for the other.
Location Trust
WHERE you can act. Earned purely by GPS — time spent in a neighbourhood proves you actually live or work there. Unlocks local marketplace listings, neighbourhood communities, and local-visibility posts.
· Day 0–2 in an area → Visitor (read-only local)
· Day 3+ consistent → Temporary (local posts unlock)
· 7+ days + stable pattern → Verified Node (full local access)
Account Trust
WHAT you can do platform-wide. Earned through quality content, community engagement (Karma), and time. Separate from location — your reputation travels with you globally.
· New account → Guest
· First local participation / discovery signals → Explorer
· First verified zone in your account pool → Verified Local
· High Karma / community ownership / paid → Steward
Why they're separate: the Traveler scenario
Imagine you're a Verified Local (Account Trust 3) in Seoul. You take a weekend trip to Busan. Your global reputation stays at level 3 — you're still a trusted community member. But your Location Trust in Busan starts as Visitor (day 0), so you can't immediately post Busan marketplace listings or create Busan neighborhood groups. The algorithm knows you're a trusted person, just not a Busan local yet.
How Karma is calculated
Karma drives the Social axis. It's a composite score updated nightly — not just raw likes.
- Save / Bookmark of your content+5 pts
- RSVP conversion (event → attendance)+10 pts
- Valid spam report (Good Samaritan)+15 pts
- Engagement from higher-trust users is worth more×2–3
Karma decays at ~0.77% per day (90-day half-life). Steward status requires a sustained score of 500+. A user who stops contributing will gradually return to Verified Local.