Decentralized Namespace
How do names and identities persist when platforms change?
Losing your identity when platforms change
Your name should outlast any single app.
Handles, domains, and display names are rented from platforms. When a service pivots, bans, or dies, the name people know you by often disappears with it.
Why this matters
A creator builds an audience under a username for a decade. The platform changes ownership, the handle is reassigned, and years of recognition evaporate overnight.
- Handle squatting
- Forced rebranding
- Broken links and citations
- Impersonation after abandonment
Today's challenges
- Platform-owned usernames
- Non-portable handles
- Conflicting identity systems
- No shared resolution layer
Why today's Web struggles
Namespaces are competitive moats. Each service invents its own naming scheme, so continuity depends on corporate goodwill rather than open resolution.
Usernames and identities belong to platforms
Imagine instead
People and communities control persistent names that resolve across apps, with clear delegation and revocation.
- One identity, many presentations
- Portable handles communities can verify
- Resilient links that survive platform churn
Persistent identities across the web
Why this matters to everyone
- Creators
Keep audience recognition across platforms.
- Developers
Resolve identities without proprietary APIs alone.
- Archivists
Cite people and projects that remain findable.
- Communities
Maintain shared identity beyond any host.
Meta-Layer capabilities
- Portable Identity
- Provenance
- Meta-Communities
- Interoperability
- Trust Signals
Real-world examples
- Publishing
Stable author identities across outlets.
- Open source
Persistent contributor names.
- Education
Credentials tied to portable identity.
- Civic groups
Community names that travel with members.
Join the challenge
Choose how you'd like to contribute.