Stream of Consciousness

Jaco Aizenman just wrote me via the Anonymity group of orkut asking for

any comments you may have on Virtual Rights and Virtual Identity.

Details on:
http://www.nephridium.org/virtualrights/

Virtual Rights:

1. To have a Virtual Identity
2. Not to have a Virtual Identity

The project looks fascinating, but I’m under such a deadline that I don’t have time to look at it much now, nor even read the paper. First thoughts: I think of one’s rights more like:

1. right to have access to profile data others keep e.g., bank, credit card, DMV, grocery club card, … (this step only needed until one gains control over their ID)
2. ability to assert control over usage of one’s profile (we’re building a mechanism to do this now using the new OASIS standards XRI and XDI
3. right to speak freely and without fear of retribution (via anonymous or pseudonymous nym)
4. ability to assert ownership (authenticated) over self-created pseudonymous data

There’s a lot more to say on this, but here are some links for further reading:

• http://www.planetwork.net/idcommons/ - good overview of what we’re up to
• http://xrixdi.idcommons.net/ - used by the OASIS technical committee. See especially the XdiGlossary and XdiUseCases
• http://wiki.idcommons.net/ - The ID Commons wiki. Check out the SSXDI project to see what we’re working on now
• http://www.openprivacy.org/ - old but still relevant

I’ve been running my web servers off of a machine in my home office for eleven years (since August 1993). Originally it was a 486 DX/66 running NetBSD 0.8 and now it’s an Athlon XP-2600 running Debian GNU/Linux.) And I’ve been running my mail servers off the same box since 1997.

Today (with the help of a hired gun not to mention my incredibly generous patron who bought the new machine) all web and mail services are at a colo facility.

While this is better in every way, nonetheless I feel a certain emptiness as this marks the end of an era - I no longer own that machine that runs my services (though I am still - at least for the time being - in control of it).

Well, change is always difficult for me. And yet, change always brings me great new insights and opportunities. Maybe I’ll find some more time to spend with my lovely wife and son.