Vocabulary

Tasked with designing a simple identity framework for the Augmented Social Network, a good place to start is a shared basic vocabulary.

  • (optionally signed) information about an identity (tech speak: P := [[Abstract_URI, Key, Value] Sig]) note that Key and Value can be defined within a (community) namespace
  • profile objects are entities and can be named (tech speak: profile objects are first class objects)
  • profile objects can have access rights attached to them
ENTITY
any object (person, thing, profile, reputation, etc.)
IDENTITY
a unique and persistent (within a community) name for an entity
PROFILE OBJECT
PROFILE
a collection of profile objects created by, or about, an identity
REPUTATION
a usually domain (key) specific (and nearly always fuzzy) calculation of an identity's reputation or standing (usually within a community)
CERTIFICATION
a signed authentication by a trusted (reputable) third party

Thus, these all may make up part of my profile:

Fen says: Fen co-founded OpenPrivacy
Fen says: Owen is a good networker
Owen says: Fen is passionate about reputations and privacy

Reputations are often calculated within a domain such that transitive trust issues can be more easily resolved, e.g., a process calculating Owen's reputation as a networker may tap into Fen's profile during its lifetime.