Every so often, commonly in the context of SSL certificates, someoneputs forward the theory that charging money for things makes thecustomers somehow more identifiable and reliable than giving it topeople for free (with the same other authentication of customers).After all, so the theory goes, when you give people something justbecause they have a particular email address, that's not much, but whenyou've charged their credit card, you have a lot more confidence intheir real identity.

This is wrong.