I think the "Force custom lists" idea by theymos is the best step forward. I think that a less dramatic change would be to dilute DT, add a lot more DT1 members, and see what happens.
A forced custom list will solve the problem you are talking about but what will happen to the newbies? It has been mentioned by theymos too.What DT exactly is doing? Trying to save people like us a.k.a people who are not familiar with the forum. The majority of the persons will be harmed by either way if no DT is there, IMO. I guess account aged 1 year don't know how the trust system works, in some cases, even some Legendary too. How newbie will save them then?
There have been scammers in DT. It amplifies their scamming power a lot when almost everyone sees them as "trusted" only because someone chose that e.g. a long time ago. Account sales happen too, which make this even worse. DT accounts are traded constantly, so how correct is that perceived trust given by DT then? Also, as I said before, scumbags will find their way on to any curated or however small list, if it gives them a position they want. It's how it works. We've seen this happening on DT, too.
One solution, the one I mentioned in that quote, is to dilute DT list heavily. Also the sole purpose of it should be defined strictly. If such a default list structure exists, it should solely be a list of people unlikely to scam others, it should be nothing more, nothing less. This would then encourage people to make their own custom trust lists while also securing newbies from getting scammed.
It's not for the forum staff / theymos to tell people who to trust. Giving an option to opt-out of that doesn't change this reality where DT has this power.
That means you are a hypocrite & DT has value even to it's biggest critics. I don't think you're making the point you're trying to make.
