Personal certs

[Graham Cobb]

On 26/01/16 18:01, Nicholas Bohm wrote:
> What these bodies can certainly do is assert "There is a solicitor
> [doctor/surgeon/etc] on our register with address [etc]."  What they
> find much harder is to assert "The person you are dealing with is the
> same person as the one to whom the foregoing assertion applies."
> 
> They are naturally concerned about the risks of making the first
> assertion and being understood to have made the second,

Well, I hope they are all prioritising solving that problem!!  As they
have a (legally and socially recognised) function to register their
practitioners they need to do it in a way that conveys useful
information to the consumers of those services.

As their practitioners move online, and join social networks, the first
assertion becomes irrelevant and only the second is useful.  If the
existing professional bodies can't solve it, someone else will have to
and will assume their powers.

A professional "register" in this day and age does not list names and
addresses, it lists public signing keys.

Graham