Reciprocal Score Voting: Difference between revisions

In the case of any asymmetry in support, the reciprocity ratio is <math>R(j,\phi) < 01</math> for the faction which did not cooperate, and <math>R(j,\phi) = 1</math> for the faction that did cooperate. Therefore, not cooperating penalizes the side which did not cooperate more. In this way, factions are encouraged to cooperate as much as possible to maximize mutual support, forcing them to strike a balance between supporting their favorite as well as supporting alternatives as much as they can. In the case of opposing factions, the mutual lack of cooperation has no effect.

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If, however, there is significant support for the fringe faction, one way to partially address the issue is to additionally adjust the reciprocity ratio factors to include the total ratings given to each faction, that is, if a fringe faction gets an overall low mean score, then that low mean score is used to lower the penalty of not reciprocating with that faction. This way, sufficiently fringe factions largely give asymmetric support towards more mainstream factions, making reciprocation with them less necessary. Between similar largely acceptable factions, which would receive similar overall mean scores, the effect cancels out and RSV proceeds as normal.

Therefore, by taking into account mutual reciprocation as well as overall ratings RSV can be made to promote reciprocation only between factions that have similar levels of overall support. It is unclear how severe this issue can be, however, and further investigations are warranted.