The Seventh Law of Identity
As a follow up to a previous post on Kim Cameron and Craig Burton discussing digital identity, my comments on Cameron's Seventh Law of Identity: Consistent Experience Across Contexts:
The unifying identity metasystem must guarantee its users a simple, consistent experience while enabling separation of contexts through multiple operators and technologies.
I can't remember who first pointed this out but it's worth noting that while it's fun to refer to things like this as the “Seventh Law”, these are actually requirements or goals, not laws. In any case, the implications of this are sweeping: in order for digital identity to work, a common user interface experience is required. As it happens, Microsoft is busy building “InfoCard”, which is the presumptive standard-bearer for this common user interface. Microsoft points out that their InfoCard UI is distinct from Windows Vista, in which it will be shipped, so as not to require the rest of the world to adopt a part of the Vista user experience as a necessary ingredient of digital identity.
Given that, it's hard to see this as anything short of a short-sighted piece of the framework. Question: What is the rationale behind the Fifth Law: Pluralism of Operators and Technologies? In the white paper, we find this:
It would be nice if there were one way to express identity. But the numerous contexts in which identity is required won't allow it.
That argues directly against the Seventh Law as I understand it. The variety of contexts (as well as corporate and social interests among other things) won't allow for a unified user experience to develop. Maybe I misunderstand what is meant by that term, but there must some common visual component implied here. If so, what do do with mobile phones that can't support the visual richness of the InfoCard-on-Vista experience? Users with small, text based screens can't participate? Reading the Seven Laws of Identity, I always get to the end and expect it so say something quite opposite for the Seventh Law. Something congruent with the Fifth Law:
It would be nice if there were one user interface scheme which would work for all users, on all platforms, in all contexts. Because of the diversity found in each of these areas, this is unrealistic – the system won't allow it. Pluralism of operators and technologies dictates that the user experience will vary – often dramatically – from context to context. However, here are several high level design principles which will provide the best control and management for the user....
To me, that is both consistent with the spirit of the rest of the document, and respectful of the practical realities of the Internet. As it is, I think the Seventh Law works against the rest of the framework.