[zkinion]

I think a good analogy would be like a college girl getting completely drunk and passing out in some guy's bed at a party and the guy takes ripe advantage of the situation. What he did was wrong, but she was still completely foolish to put herself in that spot.

There is no reward without risk. I've had incredible success in business back in the day, from going out on the ledge and taking chances with people I barely knew. However, I've also had that success striped away from me by trusting the wrong people. I'd of been rich several years ago if not for a couple of bad choices. Normally my bad choices revolve around people.

From doing some introspection and reading this thread, I think the key is to mitigate that risk as much as possible. A person will never have complete information until the game is done. Its not like chess; more like poker. One way for me to do this will be through upfront expectations with the person as well as a contract like you described. I do need a lot more self examination, especially with how easily I can trust other people.