[bloopernova]

I really wanted KeyBase to be an open identity source.

I had a daydream about bob@bobhome being hired at alicecorp. Instead of a new ID bob@alicecorp being created, bob@bobhome is invited to the project-devs@alicecorp. Once a member, that user ID is automatically granted access to jira/git/artifactory/AWS/etc etc

Your ID becomes part of your resume, with a record of who bob@bobhome has worked for, with crypto signed endorsements from team leads etc

[rapnie]

Keyoxide may be worth checking out as a FOSS alternative: https://keyoxide.org/

[SahAssar]

Wouldn't that just put KeyBase in control of being able to validate your identity? What would happen if they banned you?

The parent talks about decentralized (or perhaps federated) solutions which I can understand but I don't get why everyone would want to put all their eggs in the KeyBase basket?

[djbusby]

I wanted things like that from Keybase too. What happened to them?

[sofixa]

They got acquired by Zoom in 2020 for the cryptography and since then have been gutted to the extent that there have been zero announcements or movement.

[bloopernova]

Their leadership didn't seem to know what to do and chased a few passing fads for new features, and didn't address the tech debt they had to improve the UX of their tool.

They added a wallet with Stellar Lumens when that should have been entirely separate. Git repo hosting that should have been left to Github/Gitlab. etc etc.

My opinion is that they should have focused on integration with 3rd parties like github. Plus working on tech debt and UX issues. Created lots of docs on integrating KeyBase with your internal tooling, stuff like that.

[woodruffw]

I don't think is the reason Keybase faded (although I agree that they shouldn't have chased blockchain fads). I'm pretty sure it's because they were bought by Zoom and had all of their engineering talent repurposed.

[bloopernova]

It's my personal opinion that they had lost their way before getting bought by Zoom. Mostly gut feeling from the actions and words from senior leadership.

But you're correct, Zoom's purchase was the death knell.