Global Namespace for People (Part 4)

Each record in the GPN would consist of at least the following (UserID, username, authprovider, authprotocol).  The latter two would be how people actually use their usernames when signing up for a service – generally this will initially be the registrar itself but the user should be able to move that to other providers.  You simply enter your globally unique username and hit a generic “Register” button, which using your record in the GPN can figure out where to send you to authenticate.

I think one reasonable objection to all of this would be that it is simply too late.  The cat’s out of the bag.  People already have usernames on tons of services.  But I don’t think we should give up, at least not yet (apparently Jeff Atwood thinks so also).  If a system such as this came into being in the next couple of years and was launched with some of the currently biggest username providers as initial registrars, then many people could get exactly the username they already have on these (and many other services).  That would allow the existing namespaces to be converged with the GPN.  What would be needed for all of this is someone like ICANN (ICANN itself?) to figure out a scheme for how UserIDs get partitioned across registrars and what database mechanism to use to for assuring global uniqueness of usernames.  The model for the database itself should most likely be DNS (someone with more in depth knowledge of DNS might be able to tell whether DNS itself could be used as it is today).

I would love to hear from folks whether they think this is completely crazy in being undesirable (e.g., because not entirely distributed), not technically feasible, not politically/commercially accomplishable, etc.

P.S. Since people are likely to bring it up: webfinger may be a much more pragmatic way to get to a similar place in the end.  It does, however, give up on a single global namespace for people that is separate from the domain name system (and with that the most likely give us up on individuals truly controlling their usernames).

Each record in the GPN would consist of at least the following (UserID, username, authprovider, authprotocol).  The latter two would be how people actually use their usernames when signing up for a service – generally this will initially be the registrar itself but the user should be able to move that to other providers.  You simply enter your globally unique username and hit a generic “Register” button, which using your record in the GPN can figure out where to send you to authenticate.

I think one reasonable objection to all of this would be that it is simply too late.  The cat’s out of the bag.  People already have usernames on tons of services.  But I don’t think we should give up, at least not yet (apparently Jeff Atwood thinks so also).  If a system such as this came into being in the next couple of years and was launched with some of the currently biggest username providers as initial registrars, then many people could get exactly the username they already have on these (and many other services).  That would allow the existing namespaces to be converged with the GPN.  What would be needed for all of this is someone like ICANN (ICANN itself?) to figure out a scheme for how UserIDs get partitioned across registrars and what database mechanism to use to for assuring global uniqueness of usernames.  The model for the database itself should most likely be DNS (someone with more in depth knowledge of DNS might be able to tell whether DNS itself could be used as it is today).

I would love to hear from folks whether they think this is completely crazy in being undesirable (e.g., because not entirely distributed), not technically feasible, not politically/commercially accomplishable, etc.

P.S. Since people are likely to bring it up: webfinger may be a much more pragmatic way to get to a similar place in the end.  It does, however, give up on a single global namespace for people that is separate from the domain name system (and with that the most likely give us up on individuals truly controlling their usernames).