OP you mentioned Offering escrow without a track record.
Do you mean no previous escrow track record or no previous deals/trades at all on Bitcointalk?
Theoretically, if a user wanted to become an escrow here, what would he need to do if he doesn't have a track record?
They could have a previous reliable trading record. Sales that have generated a reliable record of happy buyers.
Es-crowing is really utilizing an established and trusted person with a history of handling funds.
The amount of $ involved would also be relevant.
This is a perfect example of busybody 3rd parties inserting themselves into transactions where they need not be. If a user wants to start an escrow service they should be able to without a rectal inspection by a dozen 2 bit wanna be forum cops. At the end of the day lazy or careless people are going to lose their money no matter what you do. More importantly it is not up to 3rd parties to dictate to the rest of the forum what their acceptable level of risk is. This forum shouldn't be a "nanny state".