On Wed, 1 Jun 2005 11:52:03 +0100 Andrew Suffield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Tue, May 31, 2005 at 02:13:54PM -0600, Wesley J. Landaker wrote: > > On Tuesday 31 May 2005 14:11, Andrew Suffield wrote: > > > On Tue, May 31, 2005 at 09:03:12AM -0600, Wesley J. Landaker wrote: [snip] > > A notary doesn't certify that the document you hand them is > correct. All they certify is that you handed them this particular > document on this particular date. And how is it any more trustworthy that I look at you and your possibly-fake government ID card, and say, "Yep, that looks like your picture." > > Regardless, how is this different from meeting someone in person? > > The difference would be the deterrent effect. Without it, there's > absolutely no reason why anybody wouldn't generate throwaway > identities at whim. If someone is determined to pass himself off as someone else, I don't see how eyeballing him serves as a deterrent. Minors do it (use fake IDs in public) "all the time". A web of trust is based on how well an already-trusted person can determine whether a candidate is who he says he is. The point of using (in the US, at least) a Notary Public, is that the NP is presumed to be trustworthy (there's a background check, etc, etc). So, why shouldn't the web of trust be extended to NPs, for the task of "initial authentication"? -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson, LA USA PGP Key ID 8834C06B I prefer encrypted mail. "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading." Unknown -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]