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Even that is not a forever guarantee. Laws can and do change.
by ksenzee 9y ago
Even that is not a forever guarantee. Laws can and do change.
- squeaky-clean 9y agoDefinitely true, but at a certain point you need to draw a line. If these things were to change, the entire product would have to change, not just what I use as my keys, so I think natural keys are a safe bet in my case.
- dbenhur 9y agoAnd people act outside the bounds of the law. SSN seems like a good natural key candidate, until you discover some of the people your business interacts with are illegal aliens.
- int_19h 9y agoOr legal aliens, like tourists. Or foreigners, who aren't even in the country. Or really anyone else who doesn't work in the country, and doesn't have to report taxes. Ironically, many illegal immigrants actually do report taxes. In which case they use ITIN, which is compatible to SSN format-wise (###-##-####)... but it is not unique over time.