The Spirit is what is Important

This notion of the GATE Trust Score and Trusted Experts is more than simply a new technology and a new marketing gimmick to relieve people of their money, it is a new way of doing business. Together as an alliance of independent business concerns comes the ability to level the playing field, to allow the small and medium consulting firms and independent experts alike a chance to offer their expertise to an audience they normally might not have access to without aligning themselves with much larger concerns (who themselves will take a cut on business and often have agendas that go beyond the original request).

That alliance is nothing more than words and no different than so-called “Facebook Friends” without the GATE Trust Policy in place and in force. GATE Members are not expected to just follow the Trust Policy, they are expected to embrace it! There is no need to shout it from the hilltop (that is GATE's job), but there is a requirement to want it to succeed, to be active within the Policy rather than simply complying to a policy.

Thus it should be understood that there can only be a zero-tolerance policy on any attempt to override not just the letter of the Trust Policy, but the Spirit and Philosophy of the Trust Policy; all such attempts will be seen as a Breach of Trust and subject to the sanctions outlined above. This includes but is not limited to any attempt to adjust the calculated GATE Trust Score outside of the prescribed GATE Village ways, it also includes any agreements for reciprocal ratings, rankings or any other attempt to subvert the authority and / or authenticity of the GATE Trust Score.