From: ichudov@algebra.com (Igor Chudov @ home)
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 07:42:16 +0800
To: dlv@bwalk.dm.com (Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM)
Subject: Anonymous computer contractors
In-Reply-To: <u7c0oD84w165w@bwalk.dm.com>
Message-ID: <199606091824.NAA01563@manifold.algebra.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text


Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM wrote:
[we were discussing jimbell's assassination clearinghouse - Igor]

> > Maybe your hint really makes sense and after initial depopulation the
> > citizens will use different, more considerate, ways of dealing with each
> > other.
> 
> I think it would take very few 'depopulation' incidents to improve manners.
> Humans, like rats, are very good at learning from others' mistakes.

Alright, but since quite a few people have quite a few present enemies,
the depopulation may be severe enough. The only hope is that the assassin
market will become tight.

> >        Or, alternatively, maybe people will hide behind anonymity most
> > of the time to avoid becoming vistims of jimbell's clearinghouse.
> > Really, it is very hard to assasssinate username@alpha.c2.org, although
> > it is possible to hire nyms to write programs and pay them hard earned
> > digicash.
> 
> There are some very interesting discussions in Bruno Solnik's book I
> mentioned about the worth of anonymity v. reputation in financial markets.
> I wonder if it would be possible for government officials to hide behind
> anonymity. Everyone will hate a certain gov't official, but no one will
> know who s/he is?

Sorry, how is the book called?

I think that it is entirely possible. For example, consider usenet: some
groups elect to create a "government" - that is, they elect to become
moderated newsgroups. They elect moderators. For all practical 
purposes these moderators are anonymous - after all, who knows who
hides behind an email address? This anonymity does not prevent
elections. 

Another problem, as we know very well, is that cyberspace elections are
easy to rig and it is easy to create identities that do not correspond
to real-life people.

Maybe we should return to the practices of XVII century and give
cybervotes only to those who pay cybertaxes. Of course, the weight
of the vote must be equal to the amount of cybertax.

> > If we think about anonymous computer contractors and anonymous
> > employers, the interesting question is how to maintain reputations and
> > how to check references.
> 
> That's an interesting question - want to think about a protocol?

Well, let's think. What are the requirements?

	- Igor.