Starting writing something with an overtly grandiose title is probably never a good idea. Kinda fun though.

Wandering the streets of Paris thinking about the structure of the community framework we are building in Cooreea I was struck by how trust systems on the internet are likely to change the world.

Many people have commented on how the disconnected formations of our communities enable people to act in ways that are less responsible to the overall well being of the communities and environments they live in. In a small community you are less likely to annoy somebody, this can be seen as a simple logic of not offending those who may retaliate - or that people are simply only able to extend their empathy over so much distance and complexity. Or a mixture of the two.

So we end up in the situation where people can maintain their local relationships through not urinating on the neighbours doorstep but don't think anything of casually urinating on the doorstep around the corner where they do not know anybody.

The way trust systems are evolving on the internet there is, quite soon, going to be the possibility of combining your local interaction histories. Imagine taking your Tradme, Ebay, Couchsurfing and Paypal accounts and combining this with some reviews from Landlords you have had into a transferable trust history.

This is of course already happening. We rented this apartment from total strangers pretty much in this way. And many people are benefiting from playing fair in many internet domains.

What I find interesting here is how far this could extend in making people more aware and responsible for their daily actions. Life on the internet which is currently revolving around how cool you can be on Facebook, and how many images you have in Flickr could, actually I think it is, evolve to include elements of trust worthiness and worth to the community at large.

This may seem totalitarian to some people, and how much it is will be judged by how people embrace it and the measurable failures of the systems. In current life it is not dis-similar to a criminal record, and the arguments will be replayed as to how people should be held responsible for their actions. These will inevitably circle around to the logic that while some things we all agree deserve punishment, i.e. murder, others have historically had absurd punishments applied. I'm thinking of a criminal record for being caught smoking a joint or some minor offence which can affect a lifetime of travel or employment.

This is where the evolving systems are especially attractive. A criminal record is unfair when a historically positive member of society slips and their character is marred by a black mark. This binary system is essentially inhuman as we are all fallible. Trust systems on the internet are less binary, who would you trust more, a Ebay seller with one positive rating or one with four thousand positive ratings and thirty negative ones?

Like all good things, people will be scared of it. But in a world where acting responsibly to each other and our environment is becoming a critical part of our species quality of life, if not survival. Embracing our will to be good to each other and revelling in it could be of huge benefit to all of us.