Abstract: A computer system is provided that maintains information about products and provides for transactions between users buying and selling those products as well as providing a public exchange for valuing those products. The system also tracks the users who set up products in the system as well as maintain product categories. That tracking can be used for sharing revenue related to those products with the users, controlling which users become “experts” for a category of products or specific products, allowing for user-to-user interactions, etc. Users can apply to become category experts, and users who do become category experts are allowed to control the taxonomy of a product category and given other administrative controls over the product category.

Abstract: A computer system is provided that maintains information about products and provides for transactions between users buying/selling those products as well as providing a public exchange for users wishing to value those products or obtain more information about those products. The system also tracks the users who set up products in the system as well as maintain product categories. That tracking can be used for sharing revenue related to those products with the users, controlling which users become “experts” for a category of products or specific products, allow for user-to-user interactions, etc.