> So if I am scammed I not only lose out on the scam but I am further punished by the protocol to lose this collateral as well?
Well, that's the Bitcoin philosophy in a nutshell: they solve the problem of being screwed by third-parties by arranging the system so that when you inevitably do get screwed, you will have to sagely acknowledge that it was your own fault the whole time.
The math is perfect after all, which means the system is perfect, so by reductio ad absurdum if you get a crazy result (e.g. being screwed by a mediator) it must be due to a crazy axiom on your part (e.g. your decision to use a shitty mediator).
Now, doesn't that make you feel better? Welcome to the Jungle; you lost your money fair and square, and you have only yourself to blame.
Well, that's the Bitcoin philosophy in a nutshell: they solve the problem of being screwed by third-parties by arranging the system so that when you inevitably do get screwed, you will have to sagely acknowledge that it was your own fault the whole time.
The math is perfect after all, which means the system is perfect, so by reductio ad absurdum if you get a crazy result (e.g. being screwed by a mediator) it must be due to a crazy axiom on your part (e.g. your decision to use a shitty mediator).
Now, doesn't that make you feel better? Welcome to the Jungle; you lost your money fair and square, and you have only yourself to blame.