Ben Laurie commented on my response to Doug Kaye's challenge with this:
This punts completely on a pile of issues that aren't obvious from your example. The top of my list are:
a) How do I know that Kim Cameron is the person who “signed” the release.
b) How do I know that Kim Cameron has anything to do with the event (that is, suppose (a) is satisfied, how do I tie that identity to the performance that is included in the event?)?
I think what Doug was looking for was a way to eliminate his liability from a content provider point of view. Thus the issue is not whether the real Kim Cameron is signing the release – it is whether the person speaking at the event has signed the release. Let's assume Darth Vader poses as Kim Cameron and speaks at the event. With the proposal we have outlined, Doug can be sure that Darth can't claim he didn't give approval to podscast his duplicitous public appearance. In this sense, the podcast stands.
The issue of whether Darth is Kim (or visa versa) is a matter of normal journalistic integrity, and concerns the relations between IT Conversations and its producers. It is a completely different question – potentially involving the identity metasystem but potentially involving a number of other brick and mortar approaches.
What I found so interesting about Doug's problem was that it was the identity of the event and its participants – as participants – which was at stake. The “context” was really unique.
