Keep in mind, I meant it in an abstract sense; we could just as easily use existing government IDs (state driver's license, SSN, etc) rather than create a new o

Keep in mind, I meant it in an abstract sense; we could just as easily use existing government IDs (state driver's license, SSN, etc) rather than create a new one. Hardware biometrics are an option (in theory), and would also eliminate the terrible security practices inherent to email+password. What matters is not the unique identifier; the real benefit is the threat of punishment for fraud, and the "single source of truth", whether that's a government, or something else. We have this, for better or worse, in other aspects of communication infrastructure (names, addresses, phone numbers), but there is no equivalent for the web (except perhaps for domains). I'm glad that an anonymous information-sharing network exists, but I think a non-anonymous flavor (AOL : www :: Facebook : ???) would be a societal boon as well.