LinkedIn shuts down Cubeduel, the viral co-worker rating service

Lots of workplaces have anonymous co-worker feedback and ratings. I actually think that's GOOD-- people have fairly little sense of what their peers think of them.

That aside, I'll address your specific concerns with cubeduel (though from your comment, I'm not sure you actually understand how the system works). Votes are anonymous. And because people are voting between two people, a "down vote" isn't really damning-- it just means that someone out there would rather work with a person more than you.

We also suppress duel data for anyone who has lost 60% or more of their duels (they show exactly like folks who don't have enough votes to calculate). So the worst that someone could experience is a feeling that, when set next to some number of random co-workers, people choose the "someone else" 60% of the time. If someone initiated violence based on that (against who? All their coworkers?), they'd have a 40% chance of hurting someone who voted FOR them at least once. I'd be sad if such a thing happened-- but not guilty.

And, of course, people can nuke their account at any time-- no harm, no foul.

I don't really grok your viewpoint at all (seems like most people don't either), but we've done our best to minimize the "mean" aspects and call attention to the stars. For what it's worth, it's growing and folks seem to like it ( http://twitter.com/#!/search/cubeduel).