On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 5:05 AM, wjhonson@aol.com wrote:
Well still the verification of identity really doesn't have anything to do with "type a 50-word biography"
"Will Johnson" does not identify a person. "Will Johnson, the guy who went to X college and works in Y industry, and likes hobbies A, B, and Z" does.
That's not the only reason they ask for a biography, but it is an added benefit. It brings Citizendium into the real world.
When I signed up for Knol, one thing they did was allow verification.
So one way to verify you was that you gave them a phone number and your name as it was listed in the phone book. They check that it's really there, they CALL you and give you a code. You have to type that code back in.
I tried that for several weeks and it was always broken. I tried it with several different phone numbers, and several different credit card numbers. Never worked.
Besides, it costs money.
At any rate, I don't see how a 50-word biography which could be
anything I choose to make up, would satisfy any kind of identify verification.
There's an assumption of good faith, I assume, but at least you're committing to an identity which could be further checked out later, if doubts arise as to your sincerity. It's a great example of soft security, in my opinion.
I don't know. It's been a while since I've signed up to Citizendium. Maybe they've significantly changed the process since then.
To be an *Editor* that ask that you submit a CV which I suppose if you were so inclined you could check against some college database or whatever.
Yeah well, that's a whole different process.
BUT to be an Author they do not ask you to submit a CV. Just apparently this mini-biography.
So the point is still the same. If they are using this to verify something, that's not any sort of verification at all.
What if they're not using it to verify anything, but just to keep out people like you?
C'mon, haven't you ever gone to a meeting and been asked to stand up and tell everyone a little bit about yourself? Did you object and use that platform to bitch about the system? Maybe you did...