James Donald writes:
Illegal betting is merely illegal. Murder is also immoral.
This really does make a difference to reputations.
I'm not persuaded. Reputation is not having a nice feeling, it is expecting that an agent will act as he is expected to act (not an exact definition). To someone who wants to hire a murderer--the NSA's hit teams, for example--the "reputation" of a potentil hire is his track record, basically. Reputations are not scalar properties, seen identically by all persons, but are essentially confidence levels for specific functions to be peformed, or services to be rendered. Carlos the Jackal may or may not have deserved his reputation, but it was his reputation to his potential employers that mattered, not our moral judgments about the bombs he planted or the planes he hijacked. --Tim May -- Warning: I'm using Netcom as my Internet service, and both mail and News are being delayed by up to several days. I may not be able to respond promptly, and may have missed other posts and messages. .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. Cypherpunks list: majordomo@toad.com with body message of only: subscribe cypherpunks. FAQ available at ftp.netcom.com in pub/tcmay