[jdev] confusion over user at domain JIDs and email addresses?

[Trejkaz]

Mario Salzer wrote:
> I recently tried to advocate a similar user at example.com syntax as
> shortcut for Web URLs (as replacement for less user-friendly OpenID
> homepage addresses). But because of the fear for AOL users, this was
> quickly dismissed there with "Jabber also got this wrong".

Well, nobody "gets this right" anyway.

      Jabber IDs are unsuitable for identity because users change hosting.
Email addresses are unsuitable for identity because users change hosting.
   Homepage URLs are unsuitable for identity because users change hosting.

The absolute worst thing about systems like OpenID is that if you do 
change your
hosting, you have no means to go and change all the URLs on all those servers
you posted comments on under the old address.  Your comments no longer belong
to you... tough.

At least with the standard username and password, there is a (tedious) way to
change details on dozens of sites if your email address changes.

Changing details with Jabber IDs is somewhat easier.  All you need is a client
which logs into both accounts, and then exchanges messages both ways in order
to prove that the two are controlled by the same user.  And actually, once a
site has your Jabber ID, at least changing your homepage and email address are
relatively painless (or rather, it would be if we had PubSub in place for
this.)

But bring on Universal IDs, I say.  Everybody in the world gets a new UUID
generated using uuidgen or whatever.  It gets branded onto you at birth, or
inserted somewhere that it can't be changed.  Problem solved.  There aren't as
many privacy problems with this as people might think... at the end of 
the day,
it's no worse than everyone having some sort of government issued ID card, and
it's better because the scheme covers the entire planet. :-p

Maciek Niedzielski wrote:
> I can think of even better examples :)
> user at example.com cound be... FTP address.

Curses!  I saw it as an IRC address.  Pesky ambiguities! :-)

TX


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