On Oct 4, 2012, at 10:26 AM, Dick Hardt wrote: > … a somewhat tangential comment. > > On Oct 4, 2012, at 8:10 AM, Hannes Tschofenig <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> $ Identifier: A data object that represents a specific identity of >> a protocol entity or individual. See [RFC4949]. >> >> Example: a NAI is an identifier > > Easy to agree to. > >> >> $ Identity: Any subset of an individual's attributes that >> identifies the individual within a given context. Individuals >> usually have multiple identities for use in different contexts. >> >> Example: the stuff you have at your Facebook account > > Not so easy to agree to. > > I would argue that your identity is everything about you, your Facebook data > being part of your identity. Saying I have multiple identities is confusing. > There is only one of me. Any slicing becomes challenging as there are no > sharp lines between who I am on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn. There > is lots of overlap.
There may only be one of you, but there are legitimate reasons for one person to want more than one identity. Satoshi Nakamoto, for example, is (almost certainly) one of multiple identities belonging to a single person. Julian Assange and Gottfrid Svartholm probably wish they had taken similar precautions. rg
