Trust Paths

How Connections Form

A trust path is the chain of relationships between two people on Karmyq. Connections form through:

1. Exchange — two people complete a mutual aid match. This is the strongest signal.
2. Community — two people share a community. A weaker but real connection.
3. Invitation — one person invited the other to join Karmyq.

Degrees of Separation

Karmyq computes the shortest path between any two users, up to 4 degrees. A path of 1 means you have a direct connection. A path of 3 means there are two people between you.

Trust Tiers

Tier	Karma Range	Meaning
Emerging	0–29	Building track record
Trusted	30–99	Established contributor
Pillar	100+	Community cornerstone

Karma at each step in the path shows the strength of intermediate connections.

Philosophy

Trust paths make the invisible visible — you can see why a match feels safe, not just that it does. The platform never shows you a stranger; it shows you how close a connection already exists.