在用户空间做我们会在内核空间做的事情
身份
我相信，Linux 最好也是最坏的事情，就是<ruby> 内核空间 <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  kernel space </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>和<ruby> 用户空间 <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  user space </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>之间的巨大差别。


![](/data/attachment/album/201608/05/203906msi8utj4sssdvdiv.jpg)


如果没有这个区别，Linux 可能也不会成为世界上影响力最大的操作系统。如今，Linux 的使用范围在世界上是最大的，而这些应用又有着世界上最大的用户群——尽管大多数用户并不知道，当他们进行谷歌搜索或者触摸安卓手机的时候，他们其实正在使用 Linux。如果不是 Linux 的巨大成功，Apple 公司也可能并不会成为现在这样（即在他们的电脑产品中使用 BSD 的技术）（LCTT 译注：Linux 获得成功后，Apple 曾与 Linus 协商使用 Linux 核心作为 Apple 电脑的操作系统并帮助开发的事宜，但遭到拒绝。因此，Apple 转向使用许可证更为宽松的 BSD 。）。


不（需要）关注用户空间是 Linux 内核开发中的一个特点而非缺陷。正如 Linus 在 2003 年的<ruby> <a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6427">  极客巡航 </a> <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  Geek Cruise </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>中提到的那样，“我只做内核相关的东西……我并不知道内核之外发生的事情，而且我也并不关心。我只关注内核部分发生的事情。” 多年之后的[另一次极客巡航](http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8664)上， Andrew Morton 给我上了另外的一课，这之后我写道：



> 
> 内核空间是Linux 所在的地方，而用户空间是 Linux 与其它的“自然材料”一起使用的地方。内核空间和用户空间的区别，和自然材料与人类用其生产的人造材料的区别很类似。
> 
> 
> 


这个区别是自然而然的结果，就是尽管外面的世界一刻也离不开 Linux， 但是 Linux 社区还是保持相对较小。所以，为了增加哪怕一点我们社区团体的规模，我希望指出两件事情。第一件已经非常火了，另外一件可能会火起来。


第一件事情就是<ruby> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_chain_%28database%29">  区块链 </a> <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  blockchain </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>，出自著名的分布式货币——比特币之手。当你正在阅读这篇文章的同时，人们对区块链的[关注度正在直线上升](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=blockchain)。


![](/data/attachment/album/201608/05/203937zllssl6s2vm8t8ld.png)


*图1. 区块链的谷歌搜索趋势*


第二件事就是<ruby> 自主身份 <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  self-sovereign identity </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>。为了解释这个概念，让我先来问你：你是谁，你来自哪里？


如果你从你的老板、你的医生或者车管所，Facebook、Twitter 或者谷歌上得到答案，你就会发现它们都是<ruby> 行政身份 <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  administrative identifiers </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>——这些机构完全以自己的便利为原因设置这些身份和职位。正如一家区块链技术公司 [Evernym](http://evernym.com/) 的 Timothy Ruff 所说，“你并不因组织而存在，但你的身份却因此存在。”身份是个因变量。自变量——即控制着身份的变量——是（你所在的）组织。


如果你的答案出自你自己，我们就有一个广大空间来发展一个新的领域，在这个领域中，我们完全自由。


据我所知，第一个解释这个的人是 [Devon Loffreto](https://twitter.com/nzn)。在 2012 年 2 月，他在博客 [Moxy Tongue](http://www.moxytongue.com/2012/02/what-is-sovereign-source-authority.html) 中写道：“什么是 'Sovereign Source Authority'？”。在发表于 2016 年 2 月的 “[Self-Sovereign Identity](http://www.moxytongue.com/2016/02/self-sovereign-identity.html)” 一文中，他写道：



> 
> 自主身份必须是独立个人提出的，并且不包含社会因素……自主身份源于每个个体对其自身本源的认识。 一个自主身份可以为个体带来新的社会面貌。每个个体都可能为自己生成一个自主身份，并且这并不会改变固有的人权。使用自主身份机制是所有参与者参与的基石，并且依旧可以同各种形式的人类社会保持联系。
> 
> 
> 


将这个概念放在 Linux 领域中，只有个人才能为他或她设定一个自己的开源社区身份。这在现实实践中，这只是一个非常正常的事件。举个例子，我自己的身份包括：


* David Allen Searls，我父母会这样叫我。
* David Searls，正式场合下我会这么称呼自己。
* Dave，我的亲戚和好朋友会这么叫我。
* Doc，大多数人会这么叫我。


作为承认以上称呼的自主身份来源，我可以在不同的情景中轻易的转换。但是，这只是在现实世界中。在虚拟世界中，这就变得非常困难。除了上述的身份之外，我还可以是 @dsearls （我的 twitter 账号） 和 dsearls （其他的网络账号）。然而为了记住成百上千的不同账号的登录名和密码，我已经不堪重负。


你可以在你的浏览器上感受到这个糟糕的体验。在火狐上，我有成百上千个用户名密码。很多已经废弃(很多都是从 Netscape 时代遗留下来的)，但是我想会有大量的工作账号需要处理。对于这些，我只是被动接受者。没有其他的解决方法。甚至一些安全较低的用户认证，已经成为了现实世界中不可缺少的一环。


现在，最简单的方式来联系账号，就是通过 “Log in with Facebook” 或者 “Login in with Twitter” 来进行身份认证。在这种情况下，我们中的每一个甚至并不是真正意义上的自己，甚至（如果我们希望被其他人认识的话）缺乏对其他实体如何认识我们的控制。


我们从一开始就需要的是一个可以实体化我们的自主身份和交流时选择如何保护和展示自身的个人系统。因为缺少这个能力，我们现在陷入混乱。Shoshana Zuboff 称之为 “监视资本主义”，她如此说道：



> 
> ...难以想象，在见证了互联网和获得了的巨大成功的谷歌背后。世界因 Apple 和 FBI 的对决而紧密联系在一起。讲道理，热衷于监视的资本家开发的监视系统是每一个国家安全机构都渴望的。
> 
> 
> 


然后，她问道，”我们怎样才能保护自己远离他人的影响？“


我建议使用自主身份。我相信这是我们唯一的既可以保证我们从监视中逃脱、又可以使我们有一个有序的世界的办法。以此为基础，我们才可以完全无顾忌地和社会，政治，商业上的人交流。


我在五月联合国举行的 [ID2020](http://www.id2020.org/) 会议中总结了这个临时的结论。很高兴，Devon Loffreto 也在那，他于 2013 年推动了自主身份的创立。这是[我那时写的一些文章](http://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2013/10/14/iiw-challenge-1-sovereign-identity-in-the-great-silo-forest)，引用了 Devon 的早期博客(比如上面的原文)。


这有三篇这个领域的准则:


* "[Self-Sovereign Identity](http://www.moxytongue.com/2016/02/self-sovereign-identity.html)" - Devon Loffreto.
* "[System or Human First](http://www.moxytongue.com/2016/05/system-or-human.html)" - Devon Loffreto.
* "[The Path to Self-Sovereign Identity](http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2016/04/the-path-to-self-soverereign-identity.html)" - Christopher Allen.


从 Evernym 的简要说明中，[digi.me](https://get.digi.me/)、 [iRespond](http://irespond.com/) 和 [Respect Network](https://www.respectnetwork.com/) 也被包括在内。自主身份和社会身份 (也被称为“<ruby> 当前模式 <rp>  （ </rp> <rt>  current model </rt> <rp>  ） </rp></ruby>”） 的对比结果，显示在图二中。


![](/data/attachment/album/201608/05/203938elmlnljm99rh9lgm.jpg)


*图 2. 当前模式身份 vs. 自主身份*


Sovrin 就是为此而生的[平台](http://evernym.com/technology)，它阐述自己为一个“依托于先进、专用、经授权、分布式平台的，完全开源、基于标识的身份声明图平台”。同时，这也有一本[白皮书](http://evernym.com/assets/doc/Identity-System-Essentials.pdf?v=167284fd65)。它的代码名为 [plenum](https://github.com/evernym/plenum)，并且公开在 Github 上。


在这里——或者其他类似的地方——我们就可以在用户空间中重现我们在过去 25 年中在内核空间做过的事情。




---


via: <https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/doing-user-space-what-we-did-kernel-space>


作者：[Doc Searls](https://www.linuxjournal.com/users/doc-searls) 译者：[MikeCoder](https://github.com/MikeCoder) 校对：[PurlingNayuki](https://github.com/PurlingNayuki)


本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出


OK
## Doing for User Space What We Did for Kernel Space

I believe the best and worst thing about Linux is its hard distinction
between *kernel space* and *user
space*.

Without that distinction, Linux never would have become the most leveraged operating system in the world. Today, Linux has the largest range of uses for the largest number of users—most of whom have no idea they are using Linux when they search for something on Google or poke at their Android phones. Even Apple stuff wouldn't be what it is (for example, using BSD in its computers) were it not for Linux's success.

Not caring about user space is a feature of Linux kernel
development, not a bug. As Linus put it on our [2003 Geek Cruise](http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6427),
"I only do kernel stuff...I
don't know what happens outside the kernel, and I don't much care. What
happens inside the kernel I care about."
After Andrew Morton gave me additional schooling on
the topic a couple years later on [another Geek Cruise](http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8664),
I wrote:

Kernel space is where the Linux species lives. User space is where Linux gets put to use, along with a lot of other natural building materials. The division between kernel space and user space is similar to the division between natural materials and stuff humans make out of those materials.


A natural outcome of this distinction, however, is for Linux folks to stay relatively small as a community while the world outside depends more on Linux every second. So, in hope that we can enlarge our number a bit, I want to point us toward two new things. One is already hot, and the other could be.

The first is [blockchain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_chain_%28database%29),
made famous
as the distributed ledger used by Bitcoin, but useful for countless other
purposes as well. At the time of this writing, interest in blockchain is [trending
toward the vertical](https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=blockchain).

![](http://www.linuxjournal.com/files/linuxjournal.com/ufiles/imagecache/large-550px-centered/u1000009/12042f1.png)

Figure 1. Google Trends for Blockchain

The second is **self-sovereign identity**. To
explain that, let me ask who and what you are.

If your answers come from your employer, your doctor, the Department
of Motor Vehicles, Facebook, Twitter or Google, they are each
**administrative identifiers**: entries in
namespaces each of those organizations control, entirely for their own
convenience. As Timothy Ruff of [Evernym](http://evernym.com)
explains,
"You don't exist for them. Only your identifier does." It's the
dependent variable. The independent variable—the one controlling the
identifier—is the organization.

If your answer comes from your self, we have a wide-open area for a new development category—one where, finally, we can be set fully free in the connected world.

The first person to explain this, as far as I know, was [Devon Loffreto](https://twitter.com/nzn)
He wrote "What is 'Sovereign Source
Authority'?" in February 2012, on his blog, [The
Moxy Tongue](http://www.moxytongue.com/2012/02/what-is-sovereign-source-authority.html).
In ["Self-Sovereign
Identity"](http://www.moxytongue.com/2016/02/self-sovereign-identity.html),
published in February 2016, he writes:

Self-Sovereign Identity must emit directly from an individual human life, and not from within an administrative mechanism...self-Sovereign Identity references every individual human identity as the origin of source authority. A self-Sovereign identity produces an administrative trail of data relations that begin and resolve to individual humans. Every individual human may possess a self-Sovereign identity, and no person or abstraction of any type created may alter this innate human Right. A self-Sovereign identity is the root of all participation as a valued social being within human societies of any type.


To put this in Linux terms, *only the individual has root for
his or her own source identity*.
In the physical world, this is a casual thing. For example, my own
portfolio of identifiers includes:

- David Allen Searls, which my parents named me.
- David Searls, the name I tend to use when I suspect official records are involved.
- Dave, which is what most of my relatives and old friends call me.
- Doc, which is what most people call me.

As the sovereign source authority over the use of those, I can jump from one to another in different contexts and get along pretty well. But, that's in the physical world. In the virtual one, it gets much more complicated. In addition to all the above, I am @dsearls (my Twitter handle) and dsearls (my handle in many other net-based services). I am also burdened by having my ability to relate contained within hundreds of different silos, each with their own logins and passwords.

You can get a sense of how bad this is by checking the list of logins and passwords on your browser. On Firefox alone, I have hundreds of them. Many are defunct (since my collection dates back to Netscape days), but I would guess that I still have working logins to hundreds of companies I need to deal with from time to time. For all of them, I'm the dependent variable. It's not the other way around. Even the term "user" testifies to the subordinate dependency that has become a primary fact of life in the connected world.

Today, the only easy way to bridge namespaces is via the compromised convenience of "Log in with Facebook" or "Log in with Twitter". In both of those cases, each of us is even less ourselves or in any kind of personal control over how we are known (if we wish to be knowable at all) to other entities in the connected world.

What we have needed from the start are personal systems for
instantiating our sovereign selves and choosing how to reveal
and protect ourselves when dealing with others in the connected
world. For lack of that ability, we are deep in a metastasized
mess that Shoshana Zuboff calls ["surveillance
capitalism"](http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/the-digital-debate/shoshana-zuboff-secrets-of-surveillance-capitalism-14103616.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_2),
which she says is:

...unimaginable outside the inscrutable high velocity circuits of Google's digital universe, whose signature feature is the Internet and its successors. While the world is riveted by the showdown between Apple and the FBI, the real truth is that the surveillance capabilities being developed by surveillance capitalists are the envy of every state security agency.


Then she asks, "How can we protect ourselves from its invasive power?"

I suggest self-sovereign identity. I believe it is only there that we have both safety from unwelcome surveillance and an Archimedean place to stand in the world. From that place, we can assert full agency in our dealings with others in society, politics and business.

I came to this provisional conclusion during [ID2020](http://www.id2020.org),
a gathering at the UN on May. It was
gratifying to see Devon Loffreto there, since he's the guy who got the
sovereign ball rolling in 2013. Here's [what
I wrote about it at the time](http://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2013/10/14/iiw-challenge-1-sovereign-identity-in-the-great-silo-forest),
with pointers to Devon's earlier posts (such as one sourced above).

Here are three for the field's canon:

-
["Self-Sovereign Identity"](http://www.moxytongue.com/2016/02/self-sovereign-identity.html)by Devon Loffreto. -
["System or Human First"](http://www.moxytongue.com/2016/05/system-or-human.html)by Devon Loffreto. -
["The Path to Self-Sovereign Identity"](http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2016/04/the-path-to-self-soverereign-identity.html)by Christopher Allen.

A one-pager from [Evernym](http://evernym.com), [digi.me](https://get.digi.me), [iRespond](http://irespond.org)
and [Respect Network](https://www.respectnetwork.com)
also was circulated
there, contrasting administrative identity (which it calls the "current
model") with the
self-sovereign one. In it is the graphic shown in Figure 2.

![](http://www.linuxjournal.com/files/linuxjournal.com/ufiles/imagecache/large-550px-centered/u1000009/12042f2.jpg)

Figure 2. Current Model of Identity vs. Self-Sovereign Identity

The [platform](http://evernym.com/technology) for this is Sovrin, explained as a "Fully
open-source, attribute-based, sovereign identity graph platform
on an advanced, dedicated, permissioned, distributed ledger"
There's a [white
paper](http://evernym.com/assets/doc/Identity-System-Essentials.pdf?v=167284fd65) too.
The code is called [plenum](https://github.com/evernym/plenum),
and it's
at GitHub.

Here—and places like it—we can do for user space what we've done for the last quarter century for kernel space.

[Load Disqus comments](https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/doing-user-space-what-we-did-kernel-space#disqus_thread)