Couchsurfing - "doveryai, no proveryai"

My experience with couchsurfing goes back to my days as an ultimate frisbee player, well before the couchsurfing site existed. The ultimate community is a very informal group, sharing an interest in a sport played for fun and friendship rather than money and fame. Tournaments happen all around the country and teams travel great distances to play, often couchsurfing in the homes of host team players. I have slept on couches in Charleston, Savannah, Charlotte, Blacksburg, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, and more. I have had more than 10 players from other towns sleeping all over my house, including on my screened porch. Some of my best friends are people I have met through ultimate tournaments and couchsurfing. In the old days, the game depended a close knit community and trust.
Couch surfing has occurred informally, in more than just ultimate, for thousands of years, but the modern internet version started in 2003. The site started when the founder had a plane ticket to Reykjavik, Iceland and could not afford a hotel. So, he stayed on a friend of a friend's couch and found it was fun. Today there are 1.8 million couchsurfers in almost 71,000 cities worldwide. According to the site, there have been 4,649,018 positive experiences, which is about 99.8% of all member experiences.
Over 80% of these are under 35 years old, about half of couchsurfers living in Europe. Most of weekmonth, the service is free, but donations are encouraged to support the work of the site.
Some call couchsurfing a movement toward a kinder and more connected planet. It seems most couchsurfers are looking for new connections, and to add new social experiences. Most reviews talk about extraordinary kindnesses of strangers on their couches, but some the occasional poor guest. Mostly you read about amazing people participating in the lives of the homes they are staying in, how they immediately involved themselves into their families- helping with dinner and washing the dishes afterwards.
As all this relates to our class, research about social networks consistently shows that people with larger social networks are healthier, happier, and live longer. Of course, those who attend church regularly also fair well in these areas, and this is likely due to the social connections and fellowship that follows worship services. Nonetheless, this is a very real social network, and a way to build real long term relationships with strangers.
One of the most important aspects of couchsurfing is the trusting of a stranger. Obviously this trust must always be based on information. There is an old Russian proverb "doveryai, no proveryai" that translates as "trust, but verify." The couchsurfing site is based on reputation and verification. New couchsurfers must earn verification, and be “vouched” for by other couchsurfers.
Overall, couchsurfing is a great social experiment, a test of community building and trust. Now that I have kids, I am a little more prone to seek verification, but I hope to formally participate in couchsurfing again soon.