Page "Online identity" Paragraph 26

Given the malleability of online identities, economists have expressed surprise that flourishing trading sites ( such as eBay ) have developed on the Internet.

When two pseudonymous identities propose to enter into an online transaction, they are faced with the Prisoner's dilemma: the deal can succeed only if the parties are willing to trust each other, but they have no rational basis for doing so.

But successful Internet trading sites have developed reputation management systems, such as eBay's feedback system, which record transactions and provide the technical means by which users can rate each others ' trustworthiness.

However, users with malicious intent can still cause serious problems on such websites.