- From: Steven Rowat <steven_rowat@sunshine.net>
- Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2016 06:18:18 -0700
- To: public-credentials@w3.org, Manu Sporny <msporny@digitalbazaar.com>
On 6/8/16 6:57 PM, Manu Sporny wrote:
> Please ensure that you're okay with the sample poll above because once
> the polls open on Friday, that's it for this round of terminology
> discussion/voting.
After viewing the list of "Identity / Profile / Persona" as choices, I
found I wanted one added to the list which I'd prefer:
Identity Profile
Why it is better:
1. It says clearly that this is one fixed embodiment ('profile') of
the defining characteristics ('identity') of the entity in question.
And that there could be any number of others.
2. In my opinion this is exactly what the Verifiable Claims standard
is attempting to achieve for this position in the model.
3. This English usage is already widely adopted for this usage in the
psychology community, both alternative and mainstream (Google
"identity profile").
Problems with the other options:
'Identity'
Joe and others have made a strong case that 'Identity' on its own is
nebulous, and as widely used confuses the entity itself with the
representation of the entity. I would like to add that there's an
analogy to this in patent law, where a patent examiner or judge will
reject an invention unless it's a 'fixed embodiment' of an idea. Just
the idea itself is not patentable. While we're not trying to patent
anything here, I believe the same difference occurs with 'identity'
versus 'identity profile'. The 'identity profile' is the fixed
embodiment, which is what we can get into code. There can be many
different ones, but each is fixed and named. 'Identity' is the idea
that these come from. It's hard to agree on, and best avoided.
'Profile'
Possible, but overly vague. A profile is one view of something, but
not just an entity. It could be a rock or a house. A look at something
from one specific angle. But looking at what from what angle? My
'sports profile', my 'academic profile', are common uses. I think
'identity profile' narrows it well.
'Persona'
Possible, but in common use it's strongly tied to the character of a
human being, and can include a negative connotation (Random House
dictionary: "the mask or façade presented to satisfy the demands of
the situation"). It's also so common as to have many many connections:
328 million hits on Google, versus 414 thousand for "Identity
Profile". Already used by Mozilla as their Persona login system. Taken
together I think there's a strong chance of it being overly vague,
misleading, and/or confusing with other uses. Best avoided IMO.
Steven
>
> -- manu
>
Received on Thursday, 9 June 2016 13:18:46 UTC