Paul,
PV> but i'll bet my bank has ways of trusting your bank.
...
PV> if your bond is only $30/year then i probably wouldn't trust you no matter
PV> what my bank told me about your insurance company or what your insurance
It depends upon what is being trusted and what the incentives are for
violating the trust.
Some trust does require a large, enforceable penalty for violations.
Other trust can work quite well based only on history.
A bank might give out small, unsecured loans based on that history, but
might require a big loan to be secured.
I might be willing to take a first-first email from someone who has a
history of not-spamming, without requiring that they suffer a penalty
(other than my reporting them to the third-party trust agency) if they
violate that.
d/
--
Dave Crocker <dcrocker-at-brandenburg-dot-com>
Brandenburg InternetWorking <www.brandenburg.com>
Sunnyvale, CA USA <tel:+1.408.246.8253>