A system and method facilitates reliance among members of a community that communicates electronically. Each member has a private credential for use in a computing environment. Each member obtains the credential in accordance with a credential-issuance process. The process need not include a certification authority. Credentials may be generated directly by the members themselves. They system includes a database that contains at least one credential entry for each member . The system also includes a management process with authority to sanction (e.g., approve) reliance by the community on a member's credential. Such sanction authority is separate from the credential-issuance process. The system also includes a rule set defining a scope of reliance the community may make on a member's credential.
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