Re: [Multiformats] Multiformats Considered Harmful

[Manu Sporny <[e-mail]>]

On Sun, Nov 5, 2023 at 5:09 PM Melvin Carvalho <[e-mail]> wrote:
> I would like to draw attention to potentially new information with broad impact, specifically regarding the proposed deprecation of publicKeyPem and the adoption of multiformats.

This is not new information, usage of `publicKeyPem` was deprecated a
very long time ago... none of the modern Data Integrity cryptosuites
use it. `publicKeyPem` also /has nothing to do with Multiformats/...
it's a W3C Data Integrity thing, not a Multiformats thing.

That said, it's easy to undeprecate it... you just need to see if the
fediverse community cares -- they rolled it out in 2018 and haven't
really touched it since. If they want to continue using it, they have
not made that clear, but if they do, I expect the property will be
undeprecated.

> Moreover, the adoption of multiformats has seemingly overlooked compatibility with prevalent key formats such as bech32, which may inadvertently lead to a dichotomy of 'winners and losers' in the space, rather than fostering inclusivity.

If you want a new key format, just write a spec and register it in the
Multiformats registry.

> In light of these considerations, I urge the IETF to reflect on whether the move towards multiformats genuinely embodies the principles of a universal standard or if it rather represents a narrowing of scope to well-established implementations.

We have had push-back from the IETF community regarding the
registration of a large number of Multiformats. Part of the desire
here is to have IETF have a more formal change control process over
the registry.

> It is my view that this transition may not only be premature but also potentially detrimental to systems that have achieved substantial network effect over time.  See the issue below which proposes deprecating publicKeyPem (in use over 10 million accounts) for very complex multiformats alternative.

Again, the deprecation of `publicKeyPem` has nothing to do with
Multiformats. Deprecating it does not cause the systems that are
deployed that are using it to fail or stop working. If the fediverse
community wants to keep the property alive, they can just say that
they intend to keep using it and we'll put it back into the spec
(though, I expect objections from the JOSE community if we don't
deprecate it).

-- manu

-- 
Manu Sporny - https://www.linkedin.com/in/manusporny/
Founder/CEO - Digital Bazaar, Inc.
https://www.digitalbazaar.com/