Subject: [saag] WebID protocol

From: Henry Story <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:49:03 +0200

At the IETF meeting yesterday I mentioned the WebID protocol work
done at the W3C. It is essentially just a HOWTO for using TLS client
authentication to enable us to build distributed secure social networks
(which is what I am really interested in). Distributed Social Networks 
are of course privacy enhancing since it allows only those people who
wish to communicate to do so. 

 As a short example, if I can put my content on my Freedom Box [1], and 
you can put your information on yours, and it is easy for me to authenticate 
to your box even if we have never met before (because I  am perhaps a friend 
of a friend of yours) then one can avoid the need for a social network service 
provider having the view into our communication  too. These nodes in the social 
network don't have to be individuals, they can of course be businesses too.

Here are a few links:
  - short video on http://webid.info/
  - spec http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/webid/spec/
  - community group http://www.w3.org/community/webid/

The work is continuing in the Community Group, and feedback is welcome
there. 

   WebID is working at the level of TLS and the semantic web, which is why
the work was done at the W3C. But I think it should also be of interest to
the people at the IETF working on security.

	Henry

[1] http://freedomboxfoundation.org/

Social Web Architect
http://bblfish.net/