Abstract: A novel method of regulating electronic communications at least includes receiving an electronic communication from a sender for an intended recipient, determining whether the electronic communication is accompanied by a sufficient satisfaction bond, forwarding the electronic communication to the intended recipient when the electronic communication is accompanied by a sufficient satisfaction bond, determining whether a sufficient trust relationship exists between the sender and the intended recipient when the electronic communication is not accompanied by a sufficient satisfaction bond, and forwarding or refraining from forwarding the electronic communication to the intended recipient depending on whether a sufficient trust relationship exists between the sender and the intended recipient.

Abstract: A method of regulating electronic communications at least includes the following: indicating to a prospective communication sender that an intended communication recipient requires that the sender purchase a bond before a communication will be accepted by the recipient; accepting the communication if the sender has purchased the bond; rejecting the communication if the sender has not purchased the bond; establishing a feedback loop having as inputs, the amount of the bond and a desirable target communication rate, and having as an output, the actual rate at which bonded communications are received by a particular recipient; comparing the actual rate at which bonded communications are received by the particular recipient to the desirable target communication rate; and adjusting the amount of the bond when the actual rate differs from the target rate.