@keithpp @rateldajer "That is why I am recommending network is suspended until this is fixed." It technically cannot be fixed, the only solution is to get over it, just like we did with email.
Do you have unique id over email? Of course not. Still, it's not even considered a problem. It's a feature.

@keithpp @rateldajer It's confusing because we're used to Twitter, but everyone got used to e-mail addresses. We're used to copy-paste them and check them.

@CobaltVelvet @rateldajer No, not the same as e-mail, though I agree appears superficially so. To have any utility, and I make the point, this is a network, not isolated islands with weak links, @keithpp has to function across the network with no additional qualifier. The e-mail analogy is flawed because that is across the internet, not a specific network.

@keithpp @rateldajer Now I have deep technical understanding of both protocols and yes, I can assure you both are across the same kind of networks.

@keithpp @rateldajer I'm not sure what you're implying, but SMTP is indeed across the Internet working on many compatible servers in the exact same way Mastodon is.
Protocols are very alike, architecture is the same.

@keithpp @rateldajer You can always write @ keithpp @ octodon . social if you prefer, it will always work. It's only on the same instance that you can drop the second part (which also works with e-mail, it's just very rarely done because we're used to the full format)

@keithpp @rateldajer and if you're talking about instance blacklists, it is also still the same with e-mail, we're commonly blocking most of the Internet because of spam. Some providers are extremely strict and require very specific conditions to accept e-mail from an ISP or country, and it's very common to share e-mail IP blacklists.

@CobaltVelvet @rateldajer I have made no mention of blacklists

@keithpp @CobaltVelvet @rateldajer there is NO network as a whole as you think. there is a bunch of DISTINCTS servers, talking to other servers (with the same language), dispatching messages from their respective users to other server's users. exactly as email servers are working for +50 years. packaging is more pretty, that's all.

@keithpp @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet You're defining Mastodon as "a network" when really:
Mastodon = email
instance = email host
octodon.social = gmail.com
@user@instance = email@address.com

The mistake you're making is thinking Mastodon = gmail.com.

@codydh @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet I am not thinking that all.

@keithpp @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet Most solutions that would normalize a username across all instances would also require centralized control. That is not what Mastodon is about.

@codydh @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet Most solutions is not all solutions. Find a solution not bombard me with excuses. Unless you wish to exist in a little niche. Which is what it will remain if not solved, as the more it grows, the bigger this problem will become.

@keithpp @rateldajer @codydh Find me a solution that works with Twitter and E-Mail and not here. I'll wait.

@keithpp @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet I think you're right that there's the potential for some confusion, but wholeheartedly disagree with you decrying it as "the fatal flaw." Maybe a solution is (ugh) similar to what Facebook does, which is mainly referring to people by their 'Name' as opposed to their 'username.' So that they're less exposed. But I largely dislike that idea.

@keithpp @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet I think you're right that there's the potential for some inclusion, but wholeheartedly disagree with you decrying it as "the fatal flaw." Maybe a solution is (ugh) similar to what Facebook does, which is mainly referring to people by their 'Name' as opposed to their 'username.' So that they're less exposed. But I largely dislike that idea.

@codydh @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet Wait until numbers grow, multiple users of same @keithpp either by accident or mischief, and you will realise how big a problem it is.

@keithpp @rateldajer @codydh @lou1306 even better: find me any solution that *work*. Identity is a difficult problem, Twitter hasn't solved it except for verified people, e-mail never solved it and no one cares except infosec folks.
It's not new, it's not easy, that's not specific to Mastodon or even worse in Mastodon than in e-mail.

@CobaltVelvet @keithpp @rateldajer @lou1306 Agreed, 100%. The only solution that works (with many asterisks) is you already know someone on Twitter, Email, IRL, website, keybase, etc., and they tell you their ID elsewhere.

@codydh @CobaltVelvet @rateldajer @lou1306 I agree, and if read and comprehended what I wrote, will see I have already stated this with qualifications. It is provenance. And mine goes back to when few people even were aware of internet. But is does not solve multiple @keithpp within this network. And it will blow up . as the number users grows.

@keithpp @lou1306 @rateldajer @codydh Now you just sound like one of those pseudo-intellectuals predicting stocks with bullshit with 50/50 accuracy.
Do you know how many people share the same name over Twitter? Add a number or "_" because it's taken? No one cares. All the people having a name @gmail while the same @yahoo belongs to another? No one cares.
You're still "thinking like twitter" inside Mastodon. Which is exactly the same as "thinking like Twitter" in E-mail.

@CobaltVelvet @keithpp @lou1306 @rateldajer As valid as: "I keep trying to email the address CobaltVelvet but it tells me it's an invalid email address! Broken system!"

@CobaltVelvet @lou1306 @codydh @rateldajer Confusion oof two different issues. Yiu do not find muliple @keithpp or @paulocoelho on twitter, thus that one solved. You may find multiple fake Paulo Coelho, which twitter verification resolves.

@keithpp @CobaltVelvet @lou1306 @rateldajer You're still talking past the issue. You're comparing to Twitter when you should be comparing to email. And it's not just because there's another @ sign, it's because email is much more like the network/distribution designs of Mastodon than Twitter is. You may perceive that as an issue, but again, that's how it's designed, and plenty think it's not an issue.

@keithpp @rateldajer @codydh @lou1306 You are indeed just removing half of the identifier and making it a "Mastodon flaw". Stop that. It's counter-productive.
You are *not* "keithpp". You are "keithpp at octodon". You got over it with e-mail, why are you making such a mess now? And yes, you could find "keith_p" or "keithpp_" on Twitter and that's very common and would be just the same problem over again.

@keithpp @CobaltVelvet @lou1306 @rateldajer Or again, you wouldn't argue that the internet is broken because twitter.com and twitter.net are two different sites. It's understood that "twitter.com" is the full name, not just "twitter".

@keithpp @rateldajer @CobaltVelvet Said differently, it'd be like saying "My username is keithpp" without saying where. You'd say "My username is keithpp on Twitter" or "My email address is user@domain.com."

@keithpp @CobaltVelvet Yes I saw that in your post, which is why I mentioned that I look up people's id often by clicking to see their instance. You're right that this is how it works. I only disagree that it is a fatal flaw. I think it is how many systems work and people are able to understand it. Frankly there are even weirder things about Mastadon that may limit it's reach, I don't think this will be it. But I think many people on here don't care if it takes over. It can exist at any size.