Robin Bradley helps make Christmas safe in cyberspace. This 50-year-old Maryland mother mediates disputes for eBay, the biggest souk in cyberspace. She is helping to build a kind of justice system for the internet, one that largely ignores courts and borders and relies instead on people (eventually) being reasonable.

I may need her services soon, because I am planning my first all-eBay Christmas. I am already halfway down Santa's list: Barbie SUV - check; Disney Princess scooter - check; Shrek 2 video - check. And I should soon close a deal for a credit-card-sized digital camera for grandpa, a silica oven mitt for my brother, and a Star Wars action figure for my second cousin twice removed.