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While Nathan Zeldes blog entry is aimed at trusting Wiki entries, in particular Wikipedia. This is a form of virtual trust, as outlined in the paper Sam and I wrote.
Zeldes’s point, whether Wiki information or purchasing online, is Caveat Emptor (or “Buyer Beware”).
He also describes what he does before he purchases items via the internet:
checking the seller’s web site for consistency and quality; finding the people behind the site and running Alta Vista (this was pre-Google days) on their names in combination with trouble, problem, scam, etc; searching DejaNews (now Google Groups) for opinions in UseNet forums; uncovering the geographic location of the business and assessing the implications; etc, etc. By the time I was done, I’d have a pretty good idea whether the site offering Mega SW III was trustworthy or not.
Unfortunately most people are unlikely to do even a few of these steps.
