[Community-Discuss] ID verification on the Database Working Group mailing list

[Mike Silber]

Hi Ben

> On 24 Jan 2022, at 12:08, Ben Maddison <benm at workonline.africa> wrote:
> 
...
> Assuming such a disclosure would be self asserted(?), that leaves some open
> questions:
> 
> - How is that information provided to the reader of a message (perhaps
>  auto inserting a link to a disclosure webpage at the foot of each
>  message?)

I think simply having a live disclosure page would be sufficient. No need for inserting a link.

> - How is the provided information maintained to prevent staleness when,
>  e.g. a subscriber changes job, accepts a new consulting gig, gets
>  elected to a board somewhere?

In the ICANN world the expectation is an annual update, unless actual changes have occurred. WG group members generally are very responsible about updating. I suppose you can find a way to disable posting privileges if not updated every 12 months. Practical implementation is best left to staff.
 
> - (Most stickily) to what extent is the provided disclosure verified,
>  and by whom? This is hard enough in the case of positive assertions,
>  and seems near-impossible in the case of omissions.

Agreed - this is where your recommendation to the WG to ignore provocation from posters is useful, as well as guidance to the chairs to consider inputs more carefully when a clear SOI does not indicate a link between a poster’s affiliation and the assertions they make. For example - a poster making assertions about the difficulty of administering an abuse contact, yet the poster’s SOI does not incite any actual role in administering a network would signal that they may simply be a paid and undisclosed shill. They could be asked to update their SOI or have posting privileges removed.

> - Probably others...

No doubt 

> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ben