Illusional delusions

[Declan McCullagh]

Just skimming the list after coming back from vacation... 

Dan Klein has written a nice book titled "Reputation" which I frequently
recommend. Looks at some of these examples in detail from a self-
regulatory, free-market perspective.

-Declan

On Tue, Dec 25, 2001 at 05:51:01PM -0800, Tim May wrote:
> I didn't read far enough into BU's piece to see him asking such a silly 
> question, or I would have also offered S&P and D&B as examples. 
> "Foobarcorp's rating has been lowered from AAA to AA." Like it or not, 
> they are in the business of reputation rating.
> 
> So is a Notary Public. So is a restaurant reviewer in a newspaper. So 
> are Siskel and Ebert, er, Ebert and That New Guy.
> 
> So are the kosher meat dudes who stamp "Kosher" on food approved for 
> consumption by Jews.
> 
> So are the "PC Labs" and other reviewers of new PC hardware.
> 
> We are swimming in a sea of such reputation services, just as we are 
> swimming in what is basically an anarchic ocean.
> 
> --Tim May
> "Ben Franklin warned us that those who would trade liberty for a little 
> bit of temporary security deserve neither. This is the path we are now 
> racing down, with American flags fluttering."-- Tim May, on events 
> following 9/11/2001