I have been an avid reader of Dead 2.0 ever since Scoble’s first link. I like the way he (or she) attempts to cut through the crap, and he has a sharp, quick-witted writing style. Unfortunately, in his recent interview with Rapleaf CEO Auren Hoffman, Dead 2.0 misses the most important and hard-hitting question in my mind: what’s Rapleaf’s response to the eBay ban?

For those of you who are unaware (or just forgot), Rapleaf is a web 2.0 feedback/reputation system. They launched back in May, and was expected to be an eBay feedback killer. Ebay banned Rapleaf links in auctions without delay, and Rapleaf’s response never received much air time in the blogosphere (if there was one).

Auren’s response to the Ebay ban is the first question I would have asked given the opportunity to interview him. Dead 2.0 touched on the subject of eBay’s feedback system, but never asked about the ban specifically. An opportunity missed.

I emailed Auren and asked him his thoughts on the ban about a month ago. He said that Ebay already has a strong feedback system, and they are targeting communities that do not have a robust feedback system. He also said that he loves the ban because their actions will encourage people to sell elsewhere than eBay.

This is an appropriate response at this stage in Rapleaf’s life (no point in pissing off eBay right now), but a feedback/reputation tool that doesn’t work with eBay feels short-sighted to me. Furthermore, eBay’s network effects are so strong right now that I don’t see eBay’s users jumping ship over this issue.  I suspect that Auren knows this, but confrontation is not the right answer right now, so has to give the “we’re working around eBay” answer.
I will be curious to see how Rapleaf continues to grow. Online reputation is an incredibly interesting area to me (and Union Square Ventures, considering their previous conversations on the subject), and it’s true that there are lots of people selling stuff online without a feedback system in place. Craigslist is the most obvious and notable example. I will certainly be cheering them on, and I’m looking forward to the next time Rapleaf and eBay clash.

On a related note: Rapleaf is hiring their 6th employee.  If you’re a SysAdmin or Network Guru, drop them a line.