Here's where reputations could come in. You cound't open a new account anywhere without a good "reputation". This could aid in balancing the load of certain people. Hey, if we're going to do that, why not go all the way and imagine a "virtuous society" in which e-cash is based on reputation. In order to obtain v$, one must submit to a "reputation asessment" by one of several firms, which then issue a given amount of v-cash based on their findings. An ISP simply requires an arbitrary amount of v-cash along with
On Sun, 8 Sep 1996, Greg Kucharo wrote: the usual $$ every month. At the end of the month, your friendly Moral Monitor greps thru Usenet and all the mailing lists he monitors looking for your name, then adjusts your account accordingly. Different moral codes would have different agencies. :-) For this service, of course, you pay a modest fee. But it's a small price to pay for spiritual peace of mind. Perhaps we'd see the rise of reputation constultants in such a system. How about people with such large "fortunes" that they create wealth simply by being associated with someone else? Don't forget the block meetings. :-> -David Molnar Phil Dick is dead, alas...