# Source trust and the validity of a contribution

ID: source-trust-and-validity
Canonical: https://rezonansapp.com/nodes/source-trust-and-validity
Version: 1
SHA256: f721d15c3fb9f1101fb341497cf9f5f0513702d4eb54a0154a59660fa4ee1b8c
Epistemic kind: reconstruction

## Question

How should a useful contribution be treated when its source later proves unreliable or hostile?

## Formulation

A source can build trust strategically and still produce beneficial ideas. Rejecting everything after discovering an adverse intention can destroy valid gains, while trusting the source wholesale can preserve hidden defects.

## Tension

Neither good reputation nor bad intention is a substitute for inspecting the contribution.

## Challenge

Which dependencies actually fail when the credibility of a source changes?