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Identity Project user story
Once upon a time there was a developer who was really into it. S-he was tapped into the zeitgeist and standing at the thrilling threshold where hobby can become vocation. There was only one problem: s-he was an Anarchanon. S-he damn well intended to practice what s-he preached.
(Editor: We're not even sure about the consciousness, it-s-he could be an AI.)
The Anarchanon had lots of ideas about identity and really wanted to put those concepts into play. Problem was, contributing to code bases while remaining fully anonymous was just not done. Friggin Luddites.
Then she came across an initiative which had neoteric new technology. Named RChain, it was a coop and it had impressive goals, benefits, and rewards, yet maintained the autonomy and anonymity of the individual. She wanted in.
First step was to create an account in the RChain infrastructure. She accessed RChain's Handshaker app and decided to verify her identity on one service for now. She chose Twitter because she was sure the social network had no public identity information on her, but she had a track record of several years of activity with a decent amount of followers and friends. So when the Handshaker vetted her account she'd end up with a passable vet rank. It wouldn't be a 10 like the accounts of famous people who are "Verified by Twitter™" but it would get her past the RChain doorman and into the club.
The Handshaker app UI is a lot like a crypto wallet. It works in a browser and there's also a version for smartphones. The Anarchanon pressed “Verify Identity” and selected Twitter as the authority. The browser took her to a Twitter page where the server asked:
"Authorize RChain Handshake Authenticator to use your account?"
She clicked the "Authorize app" button, the browser briefly showed a "You signed in to RChain Handshake Authenticator" message and redirected back to the Handshaker app. As if she had added a new crypto-currency, Twitter's icon and name stood in the verified identities listing. Also she was logged in to the Handshaker. That was easy-peasy. So far RChain is doing it right.
The Handshaker suggested that, if she was done adding identities, she should create a seed and make a backup of her wallet. She did so, saving it onto a USB stick with a long generated password.
She could see that the Handshaker interacted with a blockchain to store identity info because the transaction had a link to a blockchain explorer. She browsed the tx to inspect the data and looked at the message content. Only hashes were stored. Good, as it should be. RChain follows best practice and her identity was secure.
Then she checked the Twitter account attributes stored in her wallet: @username, name, profile image url, and email address. She noted that the Handshaker had given her a vet ranking of 3 on Twitter. Good enough. Other identities could be added later when she needed to increase her weight.
So now there was proof she existed in cyberspace and later she’d prove she inhabited the real world. Somewhere. Could be anywhere, in some godforsaken hinterland or an inner city sanctuary. Didn't matter. Nobody would ever know. Haha.
She went to sign in to the RChain Slack. Slack asked her to "Enter your email address and password" but below was a "Login with a Handshake" link. She clicked it and got a welcome screen with "Hi, who are you?". Under that was a blockchain address and a QR code. She copied the address, switched tabs to her identity wallet and went to its "Send data" screen. She pasted the address into the destination field and clicked the checkbox next to Twitter. Since she didn't want to use her Twitter username or profile image she left all the account attributes unchecked so they wouldn't be sent. She then pressed the "Send" button.
Upon receiving the new user submission Slack’s Doorman plugin inspected the data: a Twitter user with an account name of #hash# and a vet rank of 3. The Doorman sent a query to the Handshaker:
"Does this user #hash# exist and have a vet rank of 3?"
The Handshaker searched for the hash, matched it to an account, and found a vet rank of 3. It replied with:
"Yes and yes, good to go."
She switched back to the Slack login tab and pressed the "Check confirmation" button. A page loaded with the message:
"Welcome, you've been verified. If this page doesn't redirect in a few seconds, click this link."
The page redirected and the Anarchanon found herself looking at the RChain Slack. She filled in a cryptic username, uploaded a stock profile image, and started collaborating.
In which the Anarchanon deftly fends off the evil Identifiers and contributes code.