In Community We Trust: Online Security Communication at eBay

Abstract

As e-commerce and virtual communities fundamentally change the way Americans do business and build relationships, how can people be assured of safety in unfamiliar cyber-spaces? This essay focuses on online auction eBay to understand how eBay has successfully drawn millions of users to its site in spite of perceived risks and uncertainties. It argues that eBay is, in fact, a community (of commerce), and that the rhetorical construction of “community” on the site provides a foundation for trust between users. Based on trust theory, this essay isolates eBay’s “community trust” model as consisting of seven elements that work together to give users reasons to trust and to be trustworthy. Finally, the essay examines recent changes to eBay’s system, suggesting that so-called improvements for control might actually weaken the “community trust” system already in place—a warning to other sites that might imitate eBay’s community approach.

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