It pains me to observe people (mis)use the word identity, robbing it of nuance, as if it’s something obvious, well understood, and simple. It is not <thread>
Identity could mean:
1. Sociocultural category (white, gay, nerd, progressive, etc.), such as what many in marginalized communities are robbed off by the mainstream society. In this context identity is a drive and is inalienable.
2. Technical protocol, such as that which holds your reputation on AirBnB. In this context it is a solution to a pervasive problem of bad actors in sharing economy. To preserve sharing economy, you may not be allowed to start from scratch every time you trash someone’s house.
3. Legal and government identity. In this context identity is a proxy for a characteristic required to apply rules, laws, and conventions in a formal way. It is a way (not always the best way) to ensure against various types of free riding in the economy and social systems.
These and other interpretations of identity are constantly and carelessly being conflated in the world of crypto. My biggest gripe with the above quoted thread is the reference to marginalized communities as the reason to avoid identity altogether.
If one wanted to help marginalized communities, one should, rather...
...ensure that crypto in general and key management in particular is easy to understand and carry out. That would certainly help a broad range of people exit the oppressive mainstream economies. One can imagine a form of identity (social identity) that can assist in key recovery.
...provide technology solutions that recognize and account for a diversity of ways of thinking that span a multitude of sociocultural identities.
...introduce solutions that work in marginalized communities as regards to such things as health support systems and social safety nets, both of which inherently require some form of an identity mechanism.
I could go on. But the overarching point is that I wish we were more attentive to nuance in these types of dialogs. @mZargham
