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diff --git a/blog/identity-model-software-2021-01-31.markdown b/blog/identity-model-software-2021-01-31.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9796775 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/identity-model-software-2021-01-31.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,241 @@ +--- +title: "A Model for Identity in Software" +date: 2021-01-31 +tags: + - philosophy + - pluralgang +--- + +# A Model for Identity in Software + +Most software on the market has a very boring relationship with identity. Most +assume that one user has one "real" name and one "username". Some software +associates identifiers like phone numbers with people. Some software allows you +to have multiple entirely different accounts and then share nothing between +them. Some software makes this easier. Some software (such as forum engines) +have the concept of sub-accounts that allow you to compartmentalize parts of +your identity and switch between them at will. However, there is very little out +there in terms of software that gets this _right_. There's always limitations, +difficulties, red tape and caveats. I would like to discuss a proposal for how +to handle this in a way that is flexible enough to cover the widest possible +expressions of human identity so that software can be as inclusive as it can be +from the ground up. + +This is a very serious thing and I am treating this very seriously, however it +can get kind of boring reading everything in a serious tone so I am attempting +to liven it up with some more creative scenarios. + +## The Existing Clusterfuck of Identity + +So, let's start out with describing some assumptions that programmers have about +identity so that this proposal can address them. I'm going to be borrowing from +a few sources: + +- [Falsehoods Programmers Believe About + Names](https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/) +- [The Plurality Playbook](https://www.pluralpride.com/playbook) + +Here's some big assumptions that can cause the most practical issues: + +- Each user has at most one name +- Each user has at most one username they prefer +- Each user has at least one phone number or email address they'd prefer to use +- Users have no reason to create multiple logically separate identites + +If you have never encountered the kind of situation where people have multiple +names that they actively go by before, this will likely sound very confusing to +you at first glance. People just have given names right? They're given to you by +your Mom and Dad and then you're just stuck with them for the rest of your life, +right? + +Wrong. + +Your "Mom" and "Dad" in fact have names of their own beyond "Mom" and "Dad". +They could have names like "Karen Smith" or "David Carmicheal". But to you they +could be "Mom" or "Dad". You could be "son" or "daughter" to your "Mom" and +"Dad". You could be something else entirely to someone else. Yet those are all +separate logical parts of someone's social identities. If you are called "Mom" +in a context by someone, it can have a very different connotation than if you +were called by a username, nickname or legal name. + +[As a contrast, think about cartoons like The Fairly Oddparents where Timmy's +Mom only ever has the name "Timmy's Mom". You'd normally expect her to have +another name, but Timmy's Mom is only ever referred to as "Timmy's Mom" or +"Mom".](conversation://Mara/hacker) + +As an example, let's consider the various ways that I, the author of this +document experience identity that defy most of the identity systems that I have +to deal with. I am publishing this post under the name Christine Dodrill. That +name is my legal name that I use for dealing with the government and in formal +situations like that. One of the places that this post gets published is [my +GitHub account Xe](https://github.com/Xe). I also tend to use that name in some +places, I see it as a lot less formal than my legal name. Generally contexts +that I use it in are places that I feel safer in, however it's still detached +from my more personal relationships. Then there's my handle Cadey. I consider +this one to be the "real me" (for some definition of "real" and "me" that makes +sense in context). I don't use it everywhere because Cadey is a lot less +formal/a lot more personal, shitposty and friendly than the other names are. If +you see me using it or I am in a space with others using that to refer to +myself, this is actually a fairly significant sign of trust in the situation or +the people involved. + +[<a href="https://twitter.com/theprincessxena">Cadey A. Ratio</a> the name is a +shitposty reference to a term in online gaming called the Kill/Death/Assist +ratio. K/D/A Ratio, Cadey A. Ratio.](conversation://Mara/hacker) + +Also, as an aside I am going to be talking about some things in the rest of this +article that really do mix the name-based compartmentalization that I do +together, if you really want to ask clarifying questions or whatever I suggest +doing it over somewhere my name is listed as Cadey. There are some questions +that I am hesitant to answer in professional contexts. Please resepct this. + +I have not seen any system on the internet that allows me to properly map the +differences between these logical facets of my identity. Not without having to +make multiple accounts, keep track of god knows how many email addresses and use +ungodly hacks such as [Rambox](https://rambox.pro/#home). Seriously, I've tried. +People wonder why I would need a tower with more than 32 GB of ram and having to +keep so many webmail clients and instances of Discord open is basically the +entire reason why. + +So, one common thread between my escapades with identity and someone that wants +to keep their kids, knitting buddies, DnD group and gaming buddies separate is +that they are the same _person_ wanting logical separation between different +_facets_ of their identity. They may not want their kids to know that they play +Grognar the Destroyer on saturday nights, but they might also not want their +very religious knitting buddies to easily be able to find out that they roleplay +as a succubus in an MMORPG. + +People that are transgender, nonbinary or a political activist may also want to +separate out parts of their identity for fear of rumors or persecution. Coming +out as transgender is one of those 50/50 splits between "nothing bad will +happen" and "that person will never see you the same way again and disown you". +That incurs a _huge_ amount of social risk. This is a very strong case for +having a way to logically separate out part of one's identity. This could mean +the difference from someone being accepted by their family or shunned by them. +This could mean the difference between an activist being able to continue to +advocate for universal healthcare coverage and that activist being thrown in +jail for a very long time with trumped up charges for speaking out against the +actions of Big Toothpaste. + +However, what about _entirely separate people_ that need to share computers or +accounts? This could range from a married couple sharing a computer for +financial reasons to one case that I can think of that completely annihilates +most assumptions programmers make about identity: +[Plural systems](https://www.pluralpride.com/playbook#introduction). + +<center> + + + +</center> + +Usually I write these articles assuming that people reference links if they are +confused or for later reference. However, for this case to make sense I feel +that I need to directly quote part of that source so that I can help make my +point more clear: + +> Plurality (also known as multiplicity) is the state of having more than one +> person/consciousness sharing a body. Together, the people who share a body +> make up a plural system or multiple system, often referred to simply as a +> system. + +[As an aside, this post may be one of if not the first time you have ever +encountered plurality in any form. Please do your own research before jumping to +drastic conclusions or labeling people with disorder names that "feel right" in +the moment. Some other places to look at include:<ul><li><a href="https://morethanone.info">More Than One</a></li><li><a href="/blog/plurality-driven-development-2019-08-04">Plurality-Driven Development</a></li><li><a href="https://meltingasphalt.com/neurons-gone-wild/">Neurons Gone Wild</a></li><li><a href="https://aeon.co/ideas/what-we-can-learn-about-respect-and-identity-from-plurals">What we can learn about respect and identity from ‘plurals’</a></ul>](conversation://Mara/hacker) + +As far as existing identity systems go, this is the _worst case scenario_. This +throws the "Users have no reason to create multiple logically separate +identities" assumption so far out of the window that I think it may be in Narnia +by this point. Plural systems that I know have had to resort to things like +[PluralKit](https://pluralkit.me) that uses user-definable text prefixes and +suffixes to kinda-sorta-maybe implement multiple account support into Discord +communities (however at the expense of making it _much harder_ to use existing +moderation tools with PluralKit messages). + +Not to mention platforms that need multiple phone numbers gets financially +expensive for systems that want to have each member have their own connections +to other people. Making multiple accounts on services can also be a huge pain in +the ass because programs do not have decent (if any) support for easily changing +between accounts without having to keep ram-hungry clients open or constantly +changing based on context. I certainly have a huge amount of trouble doing this. +Rambox is decent enough for the lot of us to be able to easily multibox Discord, +but it is such a terrible pile of hacks that we all really would love to get rid +of. + +[If all of this is coming as a shock to you, you have probably had a much more +privileged/socially advantaged life that has protected you from having to think +about these things. This is okay. Ignorance is the first step to understanding. +Don't be afraid to find out more. This is not new either. Identity has probably +always been this complicated, but facts and circumstances have prevented it from +being discussed as openly as a blogpost such as this +does.](conversation://Mara/hacker) + +## A Middle Path + +How can we make things better for both cases? + +There is not much prior art out there (annoyingly enough), however a large step +in the right direction comes from a very unlikely source: Google Plus. One of +Google Plus' distinguishing features was the the concept of +[circles](https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/networks/google-plus1.htm). +Circles allowed you to separate people you communicate with into groups such as +"College Friend", "Coworker", "Furry", "Knitting Group" or "Family". One of the +main things that Google Plus stopped short of doing was the ability to let other +people have multiple ways to see you (they also had some shockingly bad takes +such as the insistence of "real names" which may have caused untold amounts of +harm in the process). You ended up with one "you" but many groups you could +limit posts to. + +["Real names" is usually a poorly defined concept, however in this case it +usually means "whatever is on your government ID", which can be shockingly +problematic to transgender or gender-nonbinary people that live in life +situations or countries that prevent them from being able to have agency over +their government ID.](conversation://Mara/hacker) + +Solutions such as subaccounts or Rambox are hacks to work around the disease, +but what could a cure at the source look like? + +Consider [Firefox +Containers](https://www.maketecheasier.com/firefox-multi-account-containers-explained/). +They are completely separate sub-identities but share common things with your +"main" identity such as the password manager and extensions. Being able to +communicate with other people as a logically separate identity should be as easy +as it is to spawn a tab in a Firefox container. + +There should be a "bank" of identities that you can pick between in contexts +where those identities are relevant. I should be able to flip over to Nicole's +view of a Discord guild, send a message that she's dictating out to a +conversation about the flavor profiles of Bavarian sausage casings and then flip +back to my discussion about the philosophical consequences of eBooks compared to +traditional print media in about as much time as it took me to come up with +something sufficiently bizarre for this sentence. An advantage of this being +baked into the substrate of platforms means that moderators aren't shafted by +this either. If you ban one of someone's identities from a place, you should ban +them all from that place to prevent fractal +[sockpuppeting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_puppet_account). + +I should be able to connect with someone at work, and then that same person +online without either of us having any idea that we are the same people. I +should be able to talk about legal things as Christine, personal things as Cadey +and the space inbetween as Xe. The girls and I should be able to talk about our +own things individually without our coworkers, our professional contacts, Mai's +DnD group buddies, our own personal friends, acquaintances and people that are +in groups I moderate without anyone being able to connect them all together at +the platform level without my explicit permission (if only to avoid some +uncomfortable philosophical discussions about personhood in professional +contexts where they aren't very relevant to begin with). I should be able to +select from other identities like I can select email accounts on my macbook. + +[What if it was easy to assume a different identity to say a message as it is +for me to write sentences like this?](conversation://Mara/hmm) + +Yes, this would be a hard thing to implement given existing technical debt. It +throws a lot of assumptions about identity on these platforms out of the window. +However I believe that it is really worth doing, because the benefits in terms +of privacy will _far_ outweigh the implementation costs. You have more than one +"you" in practice. Software should let us make these kinds of logical +separations easier, not harder. Having to use tools such as Rambox means that +the identity model of a service is fundamentally flawed. |