It makes me think that maybe there should be a "wild west" mode that lets people opt-out of the trust system altogether (as in, allow users to fly completely blind: no trust feedback, no trust flags, no trust warnings). If that mode were available (even if it was a permanent account-wise choice), I'd likely go for it myself
This already exists, just edit your
Trust settings:
Trust list:
~DefaultTrust
Trust depth:
0
You'll only see your own Trust ratings.
if I had the ability, at creation time, to mark my own topics such that they'd only be available to members from "my" side, then I'd occasionally do that
In that case, I'd have to use a different account to read your topics.
The nice thing about an environment like that (internally, at least; the pro-police side wouldn't be affected) is that the emphasis would have to shift from tagging/flagging (which would no longer be possible) to teaching (as in, user-to-user sharing of the techniques necessary to operate safely within a dangerous environment).
Scammers are going to love it! For every user you teach how to be safe, ten others will join who are still easy victims. People still fall for obvious scams, and some scams aren't even that obvious anymore.