Session Date/Time: 19 Mar 2024 03:00

spice

Summary

The SPICE BoF (Birds of a Feather) session focused on finalizing the charter for a new working group. Discussions revolved around the scope of the group, particularly concerning the use of JSON-LD and alignment with work at the W3C. There was a strong sentiment to focus on IETF-centric technologies, particularly binary formats like CWT/COSE. The session concluded with a poll indicating consensus on the charter text, incorporating language to clarify the group's relationship with the W3C and the conceptual model of verifiable credentials.

Key Discussion Points

Charter Scope: Debated whether the group should focus on specific use cases or develop horizontal building blocks applicable across various domains. Concern was raised about the charter's ability to prevent irrelevant new proposals.
W3C Relationship: Significant discussion addressed the group's relationship to the W3C Verifiable Credentials work. The concern about the lack of mention about that body in the charter was addressed.
JSON-LD: Participants expressed a desire to avoid JSON-LD and focus on binary formats. The suggestion to exclude all JSON LD related work was considered.
Key Discovery: The scope of metadata and key discovery was contentious, requiring clarification to avoid general-purpose key discovery.
Unlinkability: The charter text mentioned SD JOT being unlinkable was also a point of debate.
Human vs. Non-Human Identities: The implication of focusing on human identity vs. non-human identity came up and it was pointed out that there are always privacy concerns for non-human entities because all such cases roll back up to some human.
Inspiration: Participants stressed the group would take 'inspiration' from W3C and MDOC's security models but won't be 'ripping' code or directly 'following' their lead.

Decisions and Action Items

Decision: The group reached consensus on incorporating text inspired by Martin Thompson which clarifies the relationship with the W3C VC data model, inspired by security models.
Action Item: Martin Thompson will create a pull request with the agreed-upon text.

Next Steps

The finalized charter will be submitted to the ISG (Internet Standards Steering Group).
The ISG will review the charter and, if approved, the process of forming a working group (including selecting chairs) will begin.