Ripple is great, IMO. It has incredible potential as a payment system and is far more versatile than bitcoin in that regard. In that way, since you can move in and out of so many currencies and IOU issuers, Ripple could be very useful for arbitraging. Too early at this point, though.
Ripple will either end with a whimper, as people realize what a bad idea it is, or with a bang, as people find out what a bad idea it is.
Bad idea, why? Do tell. If, like most detractors, you base this on the debt/trust system's potential for collapse, you should probably stay away from bitcoin exchanges as well.
So trusting a registered, established business is just as risky as trusting someone you don't know anything about who happens to be a friend of a friend of a friend?
No. But only foolish people who care so little about money not to do a basic level of research will fall into this. If someone is careless enough to simply
assume that extending trust is meaningless, without doing a modicum of research, he shouldn't be using Ripple. My advice to newbies: if you aren't willing to
learn about Ripple, don't use it. Same goes for bitcoin -- lots of lost coins out there due to very careless people.
You
should only trust an established business. If you want to trust your friend, just like IRL, he may never pay you back. I don't understand this idea that people need to trust everyone they know. That's just part of a marketing scheme to make Ripple more relevant to the average user. If my friends or family needed money, we'd figure out a way to get it to them. I don't need to extend trust to every single person (so that I never know whether or not my funds are liquid). If someone needs BTC, I can get them where they need to go easily and without any risk via Ripple.
I would agree insofar that people will make mistakes and get burned. Just like with everything else.