Re: Internet Drivers' Licenses

[Black Unicorn <unicorn@schloss.li>]

On Fri, 13 Sep 1996, Mike Duvos wrote:

> Bill Stewart writes:
> 
> > Anybody for an Internet Driver's License?

[Too much spam, some designed to avoid filtering by humans or machines]

> Just being able to filter out posts from Net addresses that
> don't correspond to real identifiable humans posting under
> their legal names would be a good first step.  

I'm crushed.

Seriously, what is the import of the "real identifiable human" or the
"posting under their legal names" point?

If an AI program posts quality stuff, what's the difference?

Why the import of true "legal" names?  Why not simply develop reputation
signatures?

The concept that "legal names" are some how a credential is silly.  I have
a friend who has four, with matching SSN cards.

What your suggestion basically says is "instead of developing our own
decentralized reputations system for filtering lets use one already in
place, i.e. the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Of course the problem is that you have to rely on the "Is a person"
judgment of the DMV which amounts to the education and judgment of the
$21k a year "administrative assistant" who stands at the door looking at
"birth certificates" and deciding whether to let people in.  Not only is
the reputation of such a system questionable, the system is centralized,
easily fooled by anyone with a dose of creativity, and hampered by
corruption and institutional disinformation (witness relocation,
government alteration, etc.).

In any event, getting reputation credentials from a decentralized "web of
trust" is a much more efficient answer, especially where you can assign
your own levels of trust to each signator.

Mr. Duvos' idea is, in my view, a step backwards.

> --
>      Mike Duvos         $    PGP 2.6 Public Key available     $
>      mpd@netcom.com     $    via Finger.                      $

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