why get an i-name?
We got the following questions and thought the answer was worth blogging
I had to verify my email address to send mail to the author of a blog I subscribe to. So I am ready to consider getting an i-name, but why would I choose an i-name over any of the other identity services out there? What is the chance that i-name will become the accepted standard? Can I consider i-name a replacement for email certificates? If not, what is the difference?
These are great questions. Following we do our best to answer without resorting to technical mumbo jumbo.
First, it will be helpful to clarify what an i-name is; it’s simply an identifier - a string of characters that you register - and the mumbo jumbo that let’s the name be used with all kinds of services.
When you register an i-name at 2idi today, you get two services:
1] Authentication service - authentication lets you prove you are the owner of the iname by entering your password. Once authenticated you can simply present your iname to other iname enabled service providers and they can verify that you are already logged in by asking your authentication service. Note that they don’t need your password to do this.
2] Contact service - a web page that let’s people send you messages provided they authenticate themselves. As you experienced, you were able to authenticate by verifying your email address.
Both of these services are provided by 2idi today and are integrated into the 2idi ibroker code itself. However, at the upcoming global launch these services can just as easily be provided by other service providers. Your ibroker (where you register and manage your iname) will always offer some essential services (such as authentication), but they will also let you provision whatever other services you want. This is a key value of the iname/ibroker. You can use this ability to augment or replace services your ibroker offers with ones you prefer; for instance a better authentication service than your ibroker provides. The services you can manage under your iname are extensible and distinct from the iname itself. Your iname is simply your identifier (and the mumbo jumbo).
So, back to the questions. You’re wondering about the value of the iname identifier, the services that go with it, and the chances that it becomes *the* accepted standard.
Thanks to Kim Cameron, the conversation in the internet identity space is now framed in the generally accepted concept of an identity metasystem - an interoperable mix of different identity standards and protocols. Fundamental to the metasystem concept is the notion that any true identity solution needs to consist of interoperable approaches so that we don’t get trapped in identity “silos”.
What’s important at this juncture is not whether any particular standard is going to *win* and be *the* standard, but whether it is going to be interoperable with the others. Inames were developed with interoperability in mind, they don’t replace anything, they are compatible with *all* other identifiers (they are sometimes referred to as a meta-identifier), and they create new capabilities. The proof of inames’ value still has to be demonstrated, but their ability to be interoperable is clear:
Inames are a part of the Yadis project, an open source, open protocol initiative to create interoperability between simple authentication services including LID and OpenID. Inames are interoperable with Liberty and Microsoft’s infocards. And at launch, inames will have SAML based authentication as well.
So, inames won’t be *the* standard, but they are *a* standard that will work with the others. How valuable they become still needs to be proven in the marketplace where inames need to demonstrate their unique value within the identity metasystem.
Lastly, the iname is not a replacement for email certificates, but it’s possible for your iname to point to all kinds of certificates that you might want to use; certificates can be “just another service”.
As to whether you should purchase an iname, that is up to you. The specially priced 50-year inames at 2idi were priced to make the gamble worthwhile. But you don’t have to buy an iname to use the iname services - you can also get a free iname at one of the community sites.