Spend any time online and at some point you'll hit that disconcerting moment: who is this? Is it even a person? Can I trust them? 

To protect itself from bots, virtually every site you visit needs to ask those same questions about you: please verify your email address, fill out this CAPTCHA, connect your social network....

Many groups have tackled the thorny online-identity-management problem, with less-than-stellar results. Now Connect.me has built a useful reputation system built around (human) "trust anchors," who personally vouch for others.

With Connect.me's spark, Drummond Reed, plus many of the service's initial Distinguished Trust Anchors (including yours truly), let's discuss:

• What are the uses of an online reputation system? What is vouching?
• What are the trust levels in the system, and how are they earned?
• How is Connect.me connected to other efforts? 
• What benefits would pervasive use of a reputation system bring?