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by denton-scratch 788 days ago
> the bonafide original

If you take "the bonafide original" to mean the government-issued ID, then obviously only the government-issued ID is boner-fido. But there's no reason why that should be my only ID; I could, for example, generate my own keypair, and hire a notary public to attest that the holder of the keypair is (select any):

[] Good for ten-grand

[] Older than 18/21

[] The person shown in the accompanying (signed) photo

[] The author of xyz.blog

[] The same person as government-ID xxxxx

Only the last needs to be linked to a government ID, but all the others are authentic, bonafide attestations.

And such an ID would not be a duplicate of anything (not sure why you mentioned duplicates; passports, bus-passes and driving licences can all be duplicated).

2 comments

Let's say someone is 22, how can they credibly attest to being older than 18/21 without referring to some sort of government record?
Distinguishing a 21-year-old from a 22-year-old without resorting to government records is a challenge, I agree.

They could produce their parents, or any witness of their birth.

They could (if they were born wealthy) produce a hallmarked silver spoon engraved with their name. Not proof, but persuasive.

They could produce their 21-year-old younger sister, who has government ID (yeah, I know, that is a resort to government ID).

Best of all: they could produce a birth certificate, signed by a doctor (not itself government ID, just a prerequisite to getting a government ID).

> They could produce their 21-year-old younger sister, who has government ID (yeah, I know, that is a resort to government ID).

1. How would you verify that's actually their relative and not a friend or stranger? 2. How do you verify that they are in fact the older sibling and not just saying they are?

In 20 years, a 40 year old will need ID to buy cigarettes in the UK ("well you say you're 40, but maybe you're a mature 35 year-old").
> then obviously only the government-issued ID is boner-fido

Never heard of it. Is it an extension of FIDO2?

It's a deliberate mis-pronunciation of "bona-fide" that I snagged from the comedian Dawn French.