I'm skeptical. But I'm optimistic too. I'm fine letting @scipio figure out whatever he needs to figure out. If he still needs to replace 50% of the code, that just means he's half way done. :)

I'm curious about the score being something that can be independently verified from the blockchain. I haven't investigated if that's a goal or not. I can see either side. A secret calculation has at least one advantage: harder to game.

Even if the formula is mostly open, but has certain secret coefficients, that'd be OK by me.

But a fully published standard also has an advantage. If it can be fully modeled independently, and if it turns out it can be gamed, it might be possible to find those issues before there's significant damage.

Some people think that centralization has no place in blockchain technology. And a secret calculation (even if it's just one component) would be a form of centralization. But that's not really a valid objection. Centralization is not automatically bad. Likewise, decentralization is not automatically good.

But what protects users of steem-ua from a centralized calculation that gives users an unfair advantage like back-room favors? Competition. If steem-ua itself becomes a bad actor, a better solution will be waiting in the wings.

All this to say, I'm not that worried about the particulars of steem-ua implantation. My skepticism is tempered with a lot of patience because I know I can pull the plug of my support any time I want.