Escrow is must to invest in any crowdsale I avoided this project because it was looking like Ebitz when we go without any safety about our funds. So many people learned lesson from these project to go with another one.
NEVER invest in a ico without ESCROW! NEVER. That's like rule number two right after making sure your wallets are always encrypted and backed up.
I wonder if Etherium initial crowdfunding had an escrow?
Or IOTA? NXT? I believe the answer is NO...
No need to make rules where they do not exist (or at least not that simple). There are so many variables...