# Features ## Expert Evaluations The goal of Aura is to provide expert evaluations to other apps. In the BrightID domain, an expert evaluation answers whether a BrightID is a person's single allowed account or a duplicate. In other domains, other kinds of expert evaluations are possible. ## Privacy BrightID activity is a primary source of verification information in Aura. Aura inherits the same privacy rule as BrightID: no information should be shared with anyone that doesn't already know it. Aura relies on verification by people that already know the person being verified. This is in contrast to privacy-invading verification methods which require providing personal information to someone who doesn't already know it. ## Sybil battleground Aura hosts the best motivated, best equipped, and most capable [sybil defenders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_attack). Sybil defense moves from casual BrightID users to elite Aura [Players](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/how-to-play), [Trainers](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/trainers), and [Managers](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/managers). Sybil attackers are forced to target highly-skilled Aura participants rather than BrightID users. ## Accountability Aura participants have skin in the game. Performing poorly in a role or participating in an attack will result in a poor or negative evaluation, which will quickly drop the score of a participant to a level where their evaluations no longer impact verifications. ## Resilience The ability of evaluators to react quickly to lower the score of an attacker or someone making critical mistakes is a key feature of Aura. A large sybil attack can be stopped quickly with a single evaluation change. Decentralization through [multiple teams](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/teams) also add resilience. {% content-ref url="../roles/teams" %} [teams](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/teams) {% endcontent-ref %} ## Decentralization Aura offers redundancy against serious attacks through the existence of multiple [teams](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/teams). Aura players belong to multiple teams. Even if they're not aware of it, they help to provide scores for any team that flows energy to them. If a team becomes compromised, apps will exclude it and Aura will continue to operate using the other teams. Managers can add new managers in a decentralized way using a [transitive trust calculation](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/managers#manager-scores). Anyone can start participating in Aura and seek evaluations from existing participants.
## Rewards Scores resulting from participants evaluating each other provide a convenient scale for monetary rewards to be distributed to participants within a [team](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/teams). ### Scaling to new Regions In the BrightID domain, apps seeking to expand into regions can pay [teams](https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/roles/teams#leagues) to cover those regions. The need for verification in a region drives well-connected users to learn to become Aura players. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://brightid.gitbook.io/aura/intro/how-aura-works.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.