Rewards (Reviewers, Editors, and Staff)
Venue-agnostic rewards system for reviewers, editors, and staff contributions with privacy-preserving payouts and verifiable completion signals.
What this is
Rewards is an optional, venue-agnostic layer that lets journals, publishers, conferences, and repositories fund and release rewards for any accepted contribution around a work — reviews, editorial milestones (handling editor, AE, decision issued), production/copy-editing, moderation, and other staff roles — without changing their editorial workflow. Editors still judge quality. NobleID only releases a reward when the venue provides a verifiable completion/acceptance signal, and records a privacy-safe provenance receipt on the work's page.
One ID, four capabilities make this possible: the Work, the Person (claims & attestations), Knowledge-Proof Receipts, and Support—unified in the same NobleID.
Who this is for
Editors & venues • Reviewers (anonymous/pseudonymous/named) • Editorial & production staff • Moderators • Authors/Labs • Funders/Sponsors.
Integration options
Add a "Claim reward" button; inline widget/API call after acceptance/completion.
Link to a NobleID claim page; your system receives a webhook.
How it works (Editor-Attested, step-by-step)
- Sponsor funds a reward for a work/topic/role (or you define Support splits to an Editorial/Staff Fund).
- Work is done in your platform.
- On accept/complete, your platform sends a signed acceptance (or an editor clicks Release later).
- Contributor claims with disclosure mode + fresh/relayed destination.
- NobleID verifies → releases the reward.
- The work page shows "Reward claimed," role/milestone, disclosure mode, and a receipt (optional on-chain reference).
Alternatives
Two-Stage (escrow approval) • Open-Review (public URL + hash match) • Standing Support splits (e.g., 10% Editorial/Staff Fund).
Diagrams (Mermaid)
End-to-end (Editor-Attested)
Two-Stage (Escrow)
Open-Review
Support splits (Editorial/Staff Fund)
Public provenance (Work page)
API (minimum to implement)
Fund a reward
{
"work_ark": "ark:/<NAAN>/<suffix>.vN",
"role": "reviewer | editor | staff",
"topic": "genomics.methods",
"milestone": "accepted_review | decision_issued | production_complete",
"amount": { "asset": "USDC", "chain": "base", "value": "150" },
"policy": { "disclosure": "any", "mode": "editor_attested" }
}Attest completion (venue → NobleID)
{
"type": "venue_assertion",
"work_ark": "ark:/<NAAN>/<suffix>.vN",
"role": "reviewer | editor | staff",
"milestone": "accepted_review | decision_issued | production_complete",
"person_id": "NB12345678P",
"policy_id": "journal-2025-R1",
"completed_at": "2025-10-27T12:34:56Z",
"checks": { "accepted": true }
}Claim (contributor)
{
"work_ark": "ark:/<NAAN>/<suffix>.vN",
"role": "reviewer | editor | staff",
"milestone": "accepted_review | decision_issued | production_complete",
"disclosure": "anonymous | pseudonymous | named",
"eligibility_proof": { "type": "venue_assertion", "assertion_ref": "att_456" },
"dest": { "type": "relay", "token": "<relay-intent>" }
}Support splits (Editorial/Staff Fund)
{
"splits": [
{ "to": "NB11111111P", "share": 0.70, "label": "Lead author" },
{ "to": "NB22222222P", "share": 0.20, "label": "Co-author" },
{ "to": "fund:editorial", "share": 0.10, "label": "Editorial/Staff Fund" }
],
"effective_from": "v3"
}Webhooks (NobleID → venue)
reward.claimed, reward.released, reward.paused, reward.canceled (include work_ark, role, milestone, claim_id, disclosure, amount, optional tx_refs, timestamp).
Copy blocks for venue policies/guides
"Reviews and editorial contributions may be rewarded via NobleID. Editorial acceptance is required before any reward is released. Contributors can choose anonymous, pseudonymous, or named disclosure, per our policy. Rewards are routed to a fresh or relayed address; no base addresses are exposed."
"To claim a reward, click Claim reward after your contribution is accepted or a milestone is completed. Choose your disclosure mode. Provide a fresh or relayed destination. Our editors must confirm acceptance before any release. A public, non-identifying receipt is recorded on the work's page."
"We support anonymous, pseudonymous, and named contributions. Editors verify quality; NobleID only releases rewards after a verifiable acceptance signal. Disputes pause distributions until resolved. Receipts are public; optional on-chain references are available."