What it does
The influence factor acts as a reality check on your Ethos credibility score. It compares your score to your social influence. If your Ethos score is significantly higher than your social influence would suggest, a penalty is applied to bring them closer into alignment.
This is called the Influence Handicap.
Who it affects
The influence handicap only applies if:
Your credibility score is 1400 or above (the "Known" tier and higher)
You have an initialized Ethos profile.
If your score is below 1400, the influence factor has zero effect on your score.
How the penalty works
The system compares which "tier" your score falls in against which "tier" your influence falls in. If there's a significant gap for example, a top-tier credibility score but bottom-tier social influence a penalty is applied.
Small or no gap (1 tier or less): No penalty
Larger gaps: The penalty increases proportionally, up to a maximum of -300 points
Your score can never drop below 1
In practice, this means someone with a "Distinguished" score (2200+) but very low social influence could lose up to ~260–300 points, potentially moving them down one or two score tiers.
What it doesn't do
The influence factor is purely self-referential, it only affects your own score. It does not:
Change the weight of your reviews on others
Amplify or diminish the impact of your vouches
Affect how much your votes count
Alter any other user's score
Where you can see it
Profile card: Shows your influence factor value and percentile
Score breakdown page: Listed as "Influence handicap" with a gauge from -300 to 0
Profile popovers: Displayed when hovering over your profile
Why it exists
The influence handicap prevents score inflation for accounts that lack real-world social backing. It ensures that the highest credibility tiers on Ethos are reserved for users whose reputation is validated both within the platform and by their broader social graph.
FAQ
Why did my influence handicap change even though I didn't do anything?
Both inputs to the handicap are dynamic, so it can shift without you taking any action:
Your percentile can shift. The influence factor percentile is a ranking relative to all other tracked accounts on the platform. As new users join or other users' data is updated, the distribution shifts. Even if your data stays the same, your percentile can move and crossing a tier boundary changes the penalty.
Your underlying score can cross a tier boundary. The handicap is calculated on your score before the penalty is applied. If other score factors (reviews, vouches, etc.) push your pre-penalty score into a higher tier, the gap between your score tier and influence tier widens, increasing the penalty. This can happen even while your visible score barely changes, because the higher penalty absorbs most of the gain.