Vouch
Overview
Motivation
Vouching provides a decentralized approach to Sybil resistance. A Sybil attack is when an attacker subverts the network by creating a large number of pseudonymous identities to gain a disproportionately large influence.
Vouch Protocol
Arweave introduced the concept of the ANS-109 Vouch (Assertion of Identity). It is a standard that uses a specific transaction format along with some tags to allows anyone on the permaweb to "vouch" for the identity and humanity of any Arweave address.
Adding a standard such as the ANS-109 to the permaweb will help minimize Sybil attacks and bad actors, making it a safer experience for permaweb users.
ANS-109 Transaction Format
| Tag Name | Optional? | Tag Value |
|---|---|---|
| App-Name | False | Vouch |
| Vouch-For | False | Arweave address that is being vouched for in this transaction |
| App-Version | True | 0.1 |
| Verification-Method | True | Method of verification of identity for the person. Example - Twitter/In-Person/Gmail/Facebook |
| User-Identifier | True | An identifier for the user based on the Verification Method. Example - abhav@arweave.org |