Re: Restarting work on the zCap (Authorization Capabilities) work item

At Blockchain Commons we’ve been working on a different approach to object
capabilities, which we call cryptographic capabilities.

Instead of authorization for access to a process on a server, it allows
access to read and write privileges in an autonomous cryptographic object
(ACO) and supports delegation and attenuation (but has limitations on
revocation). These objects can reside anywhere and do not require
infrastructure (i.e., you can read and write ACOs entirely on your offline
machine using sneakernet).

We’ve implemented this initial in Gordian Clubs, inspired by Mark S
Miller’s Xanadu Club System:

https://developer.blockchaincommons.com/clubs/

More details at:
https://developer.blockchaincommons.com/clubs/ocaps/

Also an article on the goals:
<https://www.blockchaincommons.com/musings/musings-swiss-eid/>
<https://www.blockchaincommons.com/musings/musings-swiss-eid/>
https://www.blockchaincommons.com/musings/musings-exodus-protocol/

ABSTRACT: Digital infrastructure is built on sand due to its control by
centralized entities, most of which are focused on profit over service. We
need Exodus Protocol services that build infrastructure without
centralization, ensuring its continuation into the far future. Bitcoin
offers our prime example to date. Five design patterns suggest how to
create similar services for coordination, collaboraiton, and identity.

KEYQUOTE (relevant to this thread):
> Not every digital service needs to be an Exodus Protocol. In fact, there
are definitely services where you want centralization. You want more
vulnerable people to be able to recover their funds in case of fraud. You
want parents to be able to act as guardians for their children.
>
> But there are services that are irreplaceable and so would benefit from
Exodus. These are digital services that store data, create identity, and
manage assets that would be difficult to replace. And there are times when
Exodus Protocols become more important than ever: when we’re under threat,
under siege, or just struggling to survive.
>
> We still want to offer the ease of access and usability of centralized
services in those situations where they’re appropriate, but we want to
build those centralized services upon a strong, unwavering foundation of
Exodus. If the centralized services fail, there must still be foundations
that cannot fall.

This relates to what Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation have been
calling "Sanctuary Technologies" in recent weeks.

I hope that at some level anyone working on standards for more traditional
zcaps will consider this form of object capabilities as well.

-- Christopher Allen