Just thought I'd share some thoughts and plans for our new online system.
User Levels
The first thing I've thought about implementing is "user levels". For example, a number from 0 to 100 representing your "authority" in Comicster's online database. Any new user would start at level 0, and yours truly would be level 100.
Level 0 users would have the ability to submit new items, and edit anything that they submitted.
If a level 0 user attempted to edit an item that had been submitted or edited by a level 1 user, it would not overwrite the details. Instead, an email would be fired off to the level 1 user letting them know that the changes have been requested. It would then be up to the level 1 user to make the changes.
The same applies for any level. For example, if a level 17 user attempts to replace the details of an item last updated by a level 53 user, it would send an email instead of overwriting.
This would solve a lot of problems with "good" data from a trusted source being overwritten with "bad" data from a new user. It doesn't, however, solve the "detail wars" we discussed in another thread where two people keep updating the same item ping-pong style.
Solving the Detail Wars
If user "bob" attempts to update an item that was last updated by another user of the same level, the item isn't updated. The same thing happens as if "bob" is a lower level - an email is sent to the other user.
User Promotion
This just leaves the question of how a user gets "promoted" to a higher level.
I'm starting to think that this could be based on the amount of information you add to the database (that's add, not update). The level could go up by one every time you double the amount of data you've submitted. Like this:
- 1 item submitted - level 0
- 2 items - level 1
- 4 items - level 2
- 8 items - level 3
- 16 items - level 4
... etc etc. That means you'd have to submit over a million items before you hit level 20, unless I arbitrarily bumped you up a level because I like you. 
Friendly Names
To ensure that no-one ever actually knows someone else's email address, I think I should implement "friendly names" in Comicster. So when you submit your email address to register as a new user, you would also have to submit a nickname (or even your real name). That way we'll have a way to publish the updater of an item without having to somehow obfuscate their email address.
Your Thoughts?
What do you guys think of this idea? Would we end up with a more trustworthy database? Would people get annoyed if they kept receiving email asking them to update an issue that they submitted?