Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Tackling Network Effect

[Michał 'rysiek' Woźniak]

Hi all,

Sorry for the silence, we're swamped here right now.

Dnia piątek, 18 maja 2012 o 14:34:51 wayne, steve napisał(a):
> I agree that we should try something that already exists. This is
> something I found while perusing Diaspora's federation protocol:
> 
> http://code.google.com/p/webfinger/wiki/WebFingerProtocol
>
> This protocol is intended to allow one to find the public services
> that another person uses by using their email address as a key. I
> think earlier in this thread someone mentioned using our
> hypothetical directory protocol to find email addresses...using
> what? Their names? I can foresee problems with not knowing how to
> spell a person's name, uniqueness (which Mike/Mikael/Michael
> Anderson's email should a service implementing this protocol give
> out?), etc.

This is already solved many times in may software packages, e.g. via 
Soundex:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundex

> On the other hand, if you know a person well enough then you may
> know one of their email addresses which is already a unique
> identifier. I propose that we use this as our primary lookup key.

I would say we use an address that looks like an e-mail address. Look 
at XMPP or Diaspora - JIDs and Diaspora IDs look just like e-mail 
addresses. I believe it has many advantages:
 - it looks familiar;
 - it allows a person to have different identities;
 - it provides for having a user @ server schemes;
 - it is possible to have the same ID on many different services
   (email, XMPP, Diaspora, other);
 - it caters for anonymity if somebody wants it (they don't have to
   use their e-mail address, can create a completely new ID without
   creating an e-mail address).

> The advantage of using Webfinger to create a federated directory
> lookup service is that it is already used by Diaspora, and it is
> already in draft form...

Great, I'm all for it!

> we would just be doing the groundwork of
> understanding what open network services are available (diaspora,
> jabber, ...?) and figuring out how to connect with servers
> implementing those services, then writing a small reference
> implementation of our federated directory lookup service.
> 
> Does that make sense?

It does, a lot! :)

-- 
Pozdrawiam
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak

Fundacja Wolnego i Otwartego Oprogramowania

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