Re: [apps-discuss] I-D Action: draft-ietf-appsawg-acct-uri-05.txt

["Paul E. Jones" <[e-mail]>]

Markus,

> > However, a date could be included in an API or protocol that enables
> > applications to use 'acct' URIs. Is there a reason why this would need
> > to be included in the URI itself?
> 
> Sure.. but I think the date should actually be a (perhaps optional) part
> of
> the identifier, i.e., the acct URI. That would also make it easier to
> exchange it between various applications and protocols.

Wherever the acct URI is used, I would assume a human initially provided the
URI (directly or indirectly via a simple "user@domain" entry).  How would
the human user know any date associated with an account?

I think recycling account identifiers is a "bad thing".  Set aside the acct
URI scheme itself for a minute.  Just imagine some prospective employer
performing a search one day for some Yahoo! user ID and discovering all
kinds of nasty things posted on the web several years ago by the previous
owner of that account.  The new owner might lose an opportunity for
employment.

Having a date as a part of any user identifier might help, but it is a
little difficult for the average person to use.  Could you imagine if all
account IDs looked like [e-mail]?  Not terribly
friendly.  We might as well just assign serial numbers to all accounts and
call it a day.

Paul