Yes, I Am

Yes, I Am

. . . an advocate for the Identity Metasystem. Craig Burton convinced me for reasons he didn't know about and reasons I didn't explain to him.

The big reason I believe in it is that it fit my criteria for becoming Internet infrastructure, with an exception that I think can be rectified over time, namely that multiple reference open source implementations don't currently exist. However, the Metasystem is young and these things will most certainly change.

Everything else about the Metasystem is right. It doesn't displace any existing infrastructure, requiring only a simple plugin for web sites to interoperate with the Metasystem. The InfoCard system is a great way to put users safely in control of their own identity claims, and it looks like it will find its way into alternative browsers like Firefox and Safari, making it ubiquitous.

I really have a distaste for silos now that I've experienced the openness of the Metasystem. You'll have to pardon me if I seem too hard on them, especially Sxip, who have their heart in the right place by putting claims back in the hands of users, more or less. It's just that having worked with Dr. Marshall T. Rose and having had a taste of what standardizing Internet infrastructure is all about, and having had exposure to the Metasystem's openness, I don't want to go backward to silos and proprietary networks.