The Problem
Lets face it, Minecraft is populated by a lot of mean people. Obviously not everybody is mean, but every server has at least a few people who can totally ruin your day. These people aren't always obvious either. Its often very nice people who kill you and steal your stuff.

The Solutions
When you come down to it, there really aren't many ways to truly predict if someone is trustworthy. Its hard to get to know everyone on a server. So to make up for this uncertainty, I follow a few rules to see if people can be trusted.

Go Slow A lot of players make the mistake of instantly trusting people. This leads to a lot of betrayals. Instead, go slow. Don't instantly promote a new member to faction moderator, even if there are only 2 of you. You might not even invite them to the faction. Instead, give them smaller things to gain your trust. Ally them. Fight in combat with them. Talk with them on Skype or email. Get to know the people you play with, and establish a trust barrier. Chances are, most people who want to betray you and take your stuff won't want to become your friend, so you can weed them out easily.

Be Smart If someone has betrayed you before, its pretty likely that they will do so again. Don't trust them! They might apologize to you and promise to never do it again, but usually these people will betray you again. And again, if possible.

Establish Boundaries A good way to keep the peace is to establish boundaries. If you keep your diamonds in a certain chest, and you don't want to share them, then you need to make it clear that nobody can go in that chest. Certain people take advantage of disorganized factions. If you have a faction with a lot of rules that everyone is clear about, it makes it hard for people to betray you and get away with it. People will hesitate if they think they will get caught.

Be Careful People will find it very hard to steal from you if they don't know where you keep your valuables. Never trust anyone too much unless you really know that person and know that you can trust them. Even the most trustworthy person can be tempted to steal from you if you leave your diamonds and other valuables sitting out in the open.

In Conclusion
Minecraft is a game in which there is very little punishment for betraying people. On the other hand, there is a lot to gain from stealing and killing people. The absolute safest thing to do is to trust no one. However, doing so can make your Minecraft experience very sad and lonely. Trusting people is all about establishing real trust, which takes time. Don't be afraid to wait a couple of weeks to determine if you really trust someone. If you don't take the time to do that, then you are asking to be betrayed.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you liked it, leave a diamond. And don't be afraid to subscribe to me, either. :) I'm going to try and do at least two blogs every week, so stay tuned!

Thanks,
-Panzer