*My* willingness to use such a system would depend on the system. Of course, if you create such a system there will be somebody who uses it... how well and in what circumstances, and how many people, use it, is another matter. My worry is about abuse. One would prefer to save endorsements and find a way to remove thumbs-downs... also how to prevent one from overdoing a thumbs-up or -down certification for a person (either to inflate or de- flate a reputation). In terms of persons, I see this more as an electronic equivalent of medals awards, or those nifty little smiley stickers my second grade teacher used to give. After a while they become meaningless. Systems to rate web-sites, newsgroups, etc. in terms of specific qualities (sexual content, religious sentiment, useful information, technical/skill level of material, size of posts/files, etc.) that showed the given ratings of various organizations or people who were certified to rate on that system would be good... if implemented properly.