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Re:Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award by qplex on Tuesday April 04, 2017 @09:13AM (#14032178)
So does one export their existing network information to these open formats? I don't think the companies who currently hold that information will part with it willingly.
Re:Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award by jasonkostempski on Tuesday April 04, 2017 @10:07AM (#14032707)
If it catches on, I assume a bunch of services will pop up offering to export you data. All they'll need is your password.
Re:Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award by qplex on Tuesday April 04, 2017 @10:45AM (#14033146)
But how would you verify that YourFacebookFriend is YourFacebookFriend on some other service?
Re:Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award by Nadya on Tuesday April 04, 2017 @10:49AM (#14033196)
This is a solved problem, but not one that would catch on. See: PGP

If my friend can sign a message using the same key on both services - and I already trust that key is them - I can be almost certain it is them. Regardless of the service.

This is one of the first use cases for keybase.io - verifying identities across a few main social sites. (E: For clarification, Keybase makes it easier to find these proofs. It isn't necessary as part of the proofs.)

For example, you can find me on Reddit or Twitter and know it is me. You can also see my website URL and know that I own it - and a bitcoin address where you know I will receive the money. This is because I've verified that I own these accounts using PGP - and I've done the same for HN in my user profile. See: https://keybase.io/nadya

Re:Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award by hueving on Wednesday April 05, 2017 @08:14AM (#14041477)
>This is a solved problem, but not one that would catch on. See: PGP

It's only 'solved' if you don't care about usability. PGP quickly becomes a nightmare when you consider the day-to-day things 'normal' computer users will go through (private key stolen, password to private key forgotten, phishing attacks to sign replacement keys for friends, etc).

Re:Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award by softawre on Tuesday April 04, 2017 @10:07AM (#14032710)
They already do allow you to export your data, right?
Re:Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award by qplex on Tuesday April 04, 2017 @10:47AM (#14033166)
Yes, some of it, but not your actual network information (friends, contacts), at least not in a way that is meaningful outside of those services.