[Opensim-dev] Global identifiers

Tue Aug 31 15:38:30 UTC 2010

One more thing, a bit less important than the others, as the others 
pertain to grid-level content, and this one pertains to user-level content:

- WRT to the user agent itself (i.e. name, appearance, etc.), the user's 
user agent service (a grid-level service) is the party responsible for 
creating user agents that are launched at foreign grids. As such, that 
component is the authority that defines what agent data to send. If the 
user agent service of one grid so wishes, all of its users' agents can 
be anonymized and stripped off their clothes before going out.

- HG 1.5 has another, symmetric, grid-level component called the 
Gatekeeper which has the role of deciding what comes in to its grid. So 
if the Gatekeeper so wishes, it can anonymize all foreign user agents 
and strip them off their clothes before allowing them in.

In other words, the user agent service and the gatekeeper service are 
the yin and yang of the Hypergrid.

diva at metaverseink.com wrote:
> [unrelated to the narrow issue at hand, but since people want to know, 
> here goes]
> 
> HG 1.5 has a trust/security model. The base case is one where grids are 
> peers, and the traveling of one user agent from his home grid to another 
> establishes the *base trust* in the following manner:
> 
> - Everything that the agent references from his home grid is made 
> available to the foreign grid where the user is. In other words, the 
> user is the driver of trust.
> 
> - Everything else that is not referenced by the visiting agent is out of 
> reach. "Out of reach" is a soft security model, i.e. the resources are 
> available on the internet, but you need to know their identifiers in 
> order to get them. Their identifiers behave as capabilities. This is the 
> part that still needs work, as Melanie thinks 'soft' is not enough.
> 
> This trust model is the base upon which trust policies can be defined. 
> In other words, we now have the basis to add additional grid-level 
> specifications that overwrite the user's actions.
> 
> Melanie wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> HG 1.5 doesn't address these concerns. Also, please remember that
>> assets need to be freely available to all, else they can't be
>> displayed. The observer gets a copy, too.
>>
>> Animations, textures, sounds, etc. need to be given to all observers.
>>
>> Melanie
>>
>> Mike Dickson wrote:
>>> Right. I think some of the use cases related to how content is shared
>>> have been glossed over. In a completely open model which is what has
>>> been discussed this is all pretty straightforward.  But if I'm running
>>> an asset service (as part of a grid or separately) I might want to
>>> provide access controls as part of that service. The same with user
>>> services.  I may have a trust relationship with one agent service and
>>> allow content to be transferred to agents that service represents. But
>>> for another agent service for which no such relationship exists I'd like
>>> to deny access to content. And even in the transfer case does the new
>>> user get a new copy or a reference. That concept isn't supported now but
>>> in a distributed grid its an important distinction. I might wish to know
>>> that copies of objects rezzed in a simulator always come from a specific
>>> asset service.
>>>
>>> In short I think how the security model works is way more important than
>>> a caching optimization being applied to a URI/URL.  Its important to
>>> understand what levels of trust between services are supported and under
>>> what conditions an access is supported.  As an Agent Service I may
>>> consider even the "Names" of my users to be confidential and only to be
>>> revealed to services for which a trust relationship exists.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>> On Tue, 2010-08-31 at 13:23 +0000, mysticaldemina at xrgrid.com wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> As a content creator this concerns me.  I believe if I license my 
>>>> content to
>>>> an avatar, and then they go to another grid that any content pulled 
>>>> should
>>>> be from the grid that I have the content loaded into.  I think I 
>>>> should be
>>>> in control of my content.  I also think I should be able to block 
>>>> grids that
>>>> my content is being accessed from.  If you don't always maintain the
>>>> original content location there will be no control.  If I give 
>>>> someone a
>>>> copy of my content, then that is something else, they are now the 
>>>> owner of
>>>> it and are free to do as they please with it, at least within any 
>>>> license I
>>>> give them.  But that is a legal stuff not a technically programmed 
>>>> one.  At
>>>> least I don't expect all situations to be programmed.
>>>>
>>>> Also when asset services start happening this will become more of an 
>>>> issue.
>>>> I will have XRMarketplace.com live soon and plan to start selling 
>>>> content
>>>> and provide that content as an asset server.  How will I maintain 
>>>> any kind
>>>> of control over the use of my content if people don't have to pull 
>>>> copies
>>>> from me?
>>>>
>>>> I also think, and haven't seen in the new hypergrid, if someone goes 
>>>> to a
>>>> new grid I may not allow any of my content to go there unless that 
>>>> avatars
>>>> gets an authorization from me which should be attached to his proxy 
>>>> profile
>>>> for access into my grid/asset server.
>>>>
>>>> The other thing to think about is how updates or corrections are 
>>>> propagated.
>>>> SL has a terrible system of only supporting copies so any updates or 
>>>> copies
>>>> have to be sent to everyone.  Seems content replacement needs to be
>>>> supported and if content is all over the place this will get even 
>>>> crazier.
>>>> Also to support dynamic content there needs to be a ways to refresh or
>>>> update content.  I suggest there needs to be an expiration date on the
>>>> content just like how images and HTML pages on the web work so that 
>>>> cached
>>>> content will know to pull a new copy.  And if the expiration date is 
>>>> 0, at
>>>> the time it was pulled, it will always get refreshed.
>>>>
>>>> This is maybe should have its own discussion thread but seems to be 
>>>> part of
>>>> how this is all going to work.
>>>>
>>>> M.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: opensim-dev-bounces at lists.berlios.de
>>>> [mailto:opensim-dev-bounces at lists.berlios.de] On Behalf Of Ai Austin
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 4:17 AM
>>>> To: opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>> Subject: Re: [Opensim-dev] Global identifiers
>>>>
>>>> myticaldemina makes a lot of good points... one thing that could be 
>>>> problematic though relates to this comment...
>>>>
>>>>> From: <mysticaldemina at xrgrid.com>
>>>>> ...I would suggest any
>>>>> proxies would give the external system and identifier and not chain 
>>>>> proxy
>>>> to
>>>>> proxy unless there is a reason to do it, and the assets should be 
>>>>> copied
>>>> >from the original source.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I agree with the first half... no chains, just hand over the 
>>>> external system "authority" and its given identifier pair for the 
>>>> identity involved.
>>>>
>>>> But I don't agree at all with the idea that you then have to get the 
>>>> asset from that original authority.  The permissions could have 
>>>> changed, corruptions could have occurred or much more likely the 
>>>> authority simply will no longer be there.  The asset "as is" (with 
>>>> its textures, scripted content and what not) should be provided to 
>>>> the destination location/grid if the object permissions allow it, 
>>>> with proper transfer of the permissions to next owner exactly as if 
>>>> an avatar to avatar transfer or rez in world took place on the local 
>>>> grid, without trying to reload the asset from an original source.
>>>> .
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Opensim-dev mailing list
>>>> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>> https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Opensim-dev mailing list
>>>> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>>> https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Opensim-dev mailing list
>>> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>>> https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Opensim-dev mailing list
>> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
>> https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Opensim-dev mailing list
> Opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
> https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/opensim-dev
> 