# kaal:claim:3808859-027

**Claim.** Meritocratic allocation of power in open source projects is often a fallacy, because rank can reflect timing and one-off contributions, deflation is not built into the perception of merit, and free riding on past reputation is therefore possible.

**Type.** failure  **Support.** argued

**Holds when.**

- applies where rank is awarded on perceived merit and not periodically revisited

**Source quote.**

> In other words, deflation is not built into the perception of merit and free riding is possible.

**From.** Wulf A. Kaal, *Decentralization – Why We Need Technology Infrastructure Upgrades* (2021), IV.5 Level of Decentralization, page 38

**Cite as.** Wulf A. Kaal, Decentralization – Why We Need Technology Infrastructure Upgrades (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3808859

**Verify.** sha256 of source PDF `304ad25d43b5ecea3158e3a2ca04e6e1e3bd2958e2134e2dcefbfedf3b6f3ab7` at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wulfkaal/Academic-Papers/main/papers/pdf/Kaal%20-%202021%20-%20Decentralization%20%E2%80%93%20Why%20We%20Need%20Technology%20Infrastructure%20Upgrades.pdf

**Failure mode.** merit without deflation  (family: reputation-system-gaming)

**Topics.** reputation, governance-design

**Keywords.** meritocracy, reputation, free-riding, governance

**Canonical form.** This markdown file is the canonical hashed representation of the claim. Its sha256 is the content hash used for attestation.