I refer to this as the “reference user.” So the question is: who is the reference user?

First thing to note: The reference user does not have to be the same all the time.

The easiest answer is: relative to “the average user.” For example: an influence score of 2 means Alice trusts Bob twice as much as she trusts “the average user” in the specified context.

I think that’s a good place to start. Reference user = the average user.” There are reasons we won’t use “the average user” as the reference user all the time. But for simplicity, we have to start somewhere. Baby steps.