AuctionBytes: eBay Tinkers with a Delicate Feedback System

"Beginning February 9th, eBay will be adding a new "Mutual Feedback Withdrawal" policy, which has some users wondering about the usefulness of eBay’s feedback system, which is already widely criticized. The policy enables two trading partners, who have already agreed, to withdraw their feedback. Withdrawn feedback will impact the member’s overall feedback score. The text of the feedback comment, however, will remain in the Member Profile, and the following note will be placed in the Member Profile: "Rating Withdrawn: Buyer and seller mutually agreed to withdraw feedback for this item." The Member Profile will also include the total number of times a member has withdrawn feedback."

The hand-wriggling for something as simple as rating how smooth and honest a commercial transaction was, tells me the social software which lets you rate people on how trustworthy they are can’t be much more than a funny toy. But there’s a benefit to these sites: seeing all those faces makes you want to get to know those people better, rather than know many of them only through their representation in bits and electrons. Then maybe you can actually grant trust ratings around? Next on your browser: "People who trust Olivier also trust…"
Reminds me of my first year in business school, when someone had created a huge map of who had dated/slept with whom. That was funny to look at, and made you hope everyone was using condoms.