Ah, something for the FAQ!
The Patron and the Arbiter agree together and the Patron seals the deal by funding the escrow.
You are right about this though: in the most anonymous mode, a single human can pretend to be two different roles (Patron + Arbiter) and trick a Free Agent into submitting work and then "refunding" the money (back to himself).
With a proper reputation system this scam won't last long - maybe one or two low-paying gigs.
But if someone is operating NON-100% anonymously, it would be obvious. If I, Vinney, am the Patron, and, say, PABLOF7z (npub1l2v…ajft) is the Arbiter, we clearly are different people.
vinney
npub19m…8axkl
2025-04-10 22:31:41
in reply to nevent1q…mvq5
Author Public Key
npub19ma2w9dmk3kat0nt0k5dwuqzvmg3va9ezwup0zkakhpwv0vcwvcsg8axklPublished at
2025-04-10 22:31:41Event JSON
{
"id": "834c24846e69592125db1c056b132c0b0b882c81f74a5f10214aa5b7656522af",
"pubkey": "2efaa715bbb46dd5be6b7da8d7700266d11674b913b8178addb5c2e63d987331",
"created_at": 1744324301,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"e",
"7c8728e7eeaf9fbd1d57bddd82c84aba89d2ce66744687b7305dac0f3691f858",
"",
"root",
"2efaa715bbb46dd5be6b7da8d7700266d11674b913b8178addb5c2e63d987331"
],
[
"e",
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"reply",
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],
[
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[
"p",
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],
"content": "Ah, something for the FAQ!\n\nThe Patron and the Arbiter agree together and the Patron seals the deal by funding the escrow.\n\nYou are right about this though: in the most anonymous mode, a single human can pretend to be two different roles (Patron + Arbiter) and trick a Free Agent into submitting work and then \"refunding\" the money (back to himself). \nWith a proper reputation system this scam won't last long - maybe one or two low-paying gigs. \nBut if someone is operating NON-100% anonymously, it would be obvious. If I, Vinney, am the Patron, and, say, nostr:npub1l2vyh47mk2p0qlsku7hg0vn29faehy9hy34ygaclpn66ukqp3afqutajft is the Arbiter, we clearly are different people.",
"sig": "e05b3bd8bc8f2844ba005e588ec5d258f4448c46d0568af360f6afeb8c742d20714900d7b6d83858a6cce5524dd65b078e768cded03a9fe38b4213d85e5b48b6"
}