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> 4. Platform level user authentication Sounds like an awful idea to me, I consider decentralized identities a huge feature of the web
by arkis22 9y ago
> 4. Platform level user authentication
Sounds like an awful idea to me, I consider decentralized identities a huge feature of the web
- Pxtl 9y agoI, on the other hand, don't love managing dozens of passwords. And either way, a browser could easily offer multiple identities via multiple email accounts if you desired under their model.
- mike_hearn 9y agoCan you explain why email address client certs are less decentralised than what we have now? In practice all web apps use the email address as the underlying identity. Email addresses are a decentralised identity, to a large extent. But the fact that it's so awkward for end users is pushing people towards solutions like Facebook and Google OAuth, which aren't bad, but it seems like a better design to let the browser present identity credentials instead of always having to go back to a big centralised network to get it. The scheme I propose is somewhat similar to Mozilla Persona, if that helps.
- christophilus 9y agoI may have missed it, but what about shared computers like in a library? I wouldn't want the library browser to have my certs.
- mike_hearn 9y agoYou wouldn't want the library computer to have your session cookies either. There are already mechanisms to do that sort of thing, like Incognito mode or "log off wipes cookies".
- arkis22 9y agoAccording to wikipedia: > The decentralization aspects of the protocol reside in the theoretical support of any identity provider service, while in practice it seems to rely mainly on Mozilla's servers currently So we'd be putting all our eggs into Mozilla's basket, and we'd be screwed if they got hacked. There are also websites that do not use email addresses as identity, HN for instance.