That leaves filtering to bridge the gap between what I want to read, and what what Advogato displays. As usual, it seems quite tightly tied to the trust metric. I am unable to use the rating filter system unless I have certified them. And certification carries with it all the baggage of trust metrics. As the account page says: "Certify this user if you know them."

In addition, the rating system influences what other people see in their diary list, if they haven't performed a rating themselves. It does encourage participation in the certification and rating system, but it starts to carry the same annoyance of a click through license. People might just start certing in order to rate and filter.

I also think the rating spends too much effort maintaining information I don't need. For one, I don't really care to modify the list other people see. I don't want to censor, even indirectly, what others get to read. Plus, I don't need to rate the "interestingness" of a person's diary. I just want a flag so I never have to see their diary again.