Good faith, or in Latin bona fides (bona fide means "in good faith"), is good, honest intention (even if producing unfortunate results) or belief. In law, it is the mental and moral state of honesty, conviction as to the truth or falsehood of a proposition or body of opinion, or as to the rectitude or depravity of a line of conduct. This concept is important in law, especially equitable matters.^[1]

In contemporary English, "bona fides" is sometimes used as a synonym for credentials, background, or documentation of a person's identity. "Show me your bona fides" can mean: Why should I trust you (your good faith in this matter)? Tell me who you are. In this sense, the phrase is sometimes used in job advertisements, and should not be confused with the bona fide occupational qualifications or the employer's good faith effort, as described below.^[2]

[edit] Good faith effort

U.S. Federal and state government are required to look for disabled, minority, and veteran business enterprises when bidding public jobs. An employer's good faith effort is used as an evaluation tool by the jurisdiction during the annual program review process to determine an employer's level of commitment to the reduction goals of the CTR Law. Good faith effort law varies from state to state and even within states depending on the awarding dept. of the government. Most good faith effort requires advertising in state certified publications, usually a trade and a focus publication.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Good faith in wikis

Public wikis, of which the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia - currently the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet^[3][4][5] - is the most well-known, depend on implicitly or explicitly assuming that its users are acting in good faith. Wikipedia's principle of "Assuming Good Faith" (often abbreviated AGF), which has been a stated guideline since 2005,^[6] has been described as "the first principle in the Wikipedia etiquette".^[7] According to one study of users' motives for contributing to Wikipedia, "while participants have both individualistic and collaborative motives, collaborative (altruistic) motives dominate."^[8]

[edit] See also

• Bad faith
• Utmost good faith
• Bona fide occupational qualifications

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Look up good faith in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• "Good Faith Effort with California Department of Transportation"
• "Compliance News" A publication that handles the Good Faith Effort in various states