Hi... i stop escrowing bitcointalk forum accounts. I made an announcement about that here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1159502.new#new and gave some tips and my templates for other escrows. Maybe some new escrows want to establish some trust as escrows and might find that useful.
I still escrow the normal things but the accounts seem to be a service with very limited use and a lot of time needed for. I simply can't put that amount of time into anymore.
I did escrow an account once, it was a nightmare, so I wont do any more.
But mainly I wont do it on principal now, think about it, if everyone is buying and selling accounts, how do you know who your dealing with?
the only two reasons to buy an account, either you are doing sig campaigns or you need an account with history to make you seam more trustworthy, IMO both are pointless.
actually just thought of a third, is there a noob limit to PM's and posting? in any case, I still dont think it's worth it. Bitcoin is all ready a anonymous platform, to change the pitch as the goal posts move about is stupid.
I agree with you, the trading of accounts is a not so good thing. At first i thought the only reason to buy an account would be to scam with it.
Though i escrowed a lot accounts and the most reason seems to be trading account, so as in resell them and/or farming signatures. It seems some people do this alot.
Till now i'm not aware of an account i escrowed that was used for scamming afterwards. Only it happened that i escrowed an account where the new owner had to fight against a loan that came to light afterwards, wasn't paid back by the previous owner. And i took a hacked account into escrow. Since i forgot to ask for the signature i refunded the lender, who took that account as collateral. Cost me 0.12 Bitcoins.
Escrowing accounts is really time consuming. You have to check a so enourmous amount of things that it is no fun.
But regarding if selling should happen... i think it is better the sales happen like they happe now. That way there is a trail in private messages that, for example, badbear can follow. If trading of accounts would be forbidden then you can be sure that it still would happen. Only hidden. And it would be way harder to find out if an account was bought.
So i think it can't be avoided anyway, so it's better to do it in relative public.