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Data Portability

Data Portability is an essential requirement for various reasons. Whilst the webizen environment is being designed to support the abiity for people to own their own 'Webizen', there are still components that need to be operated on the network, most likely via some sort of infrastructure solution that's being provided via ICT Operating in a Data Centre somewhere. This "Head End" or gateway counterpart; is intended to be made available in a way that means Webizen Owners can set one up themselves. Nonetheless, the webizen protocols feature an array of ValuesCredentials that may in-turn lead to a user wanting to migrate their entire environment to some alternative system.

So, whilst the qualities of how these systems work is very different to the way Web 2.0 apps work; there are still a series of requirements, both in seeking to obtain information from legacy systems, and also to support the needs of a user should they want to migrate.

The Data Portability Project whose Current Contributors include Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, SmugMug and Twitter is an example, and the GitHub Repo for it is: google/data-transfer-project

Most other platforms have some sort of API and/or Export function, and there is a means to write software that can provide either or both; the means to transfer information to a webizen platform in future, or alterantively interact with the external platform via an API.

Solid & Similar

Solid is the name of a critical foundational body of work that relates to the historical Webizen related body of works both by W3C related Communities, involving also myself (Web Civics / Trust Factory; knowledgebanking, etc) body of works.

These works also involved various other W3C Community efforts (projects); whereby the intended purpose, was to end-up with the tools required to create an ecosystem, that was supported by open-standards (w3c, ietf, etc).

Solid is now led by Inrupt which was co-founded by the Inventor of the World-Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, He is presently working towards a W3C Solid Working Group

I celebrate the significance of the attention TimBL has prioritised towards these efforts. It was certainly the case earlier, that progress was impossible and indeed very dangerous, as such his commitment towards progressing this work; has led to progress that wouldn't have occurred otherwise.

Yet, For reasons i would prefer not to discuss fully publically (seems inappropriate), the Webizen Project is seemingly quite different to what it is that they've been working to create.

Nonetheless; part of the objectives, as to support the safety protocols requirements; should be to seek to ensure owners of webizen systems can migrate to something else that can provide the highest level of compatibility or similar features, as is possible. This is both a moral requirement as well as it being a practical requirement.

The Webizen Ecosystems has an array of Values Frameworks, which are sought to be enforcable. This may mean that a person who is shown to have acted in a way that invokes the need to act as to protect the rights of others in a way that is considered extremely serious; and ideally also, as should in-turn be made able to be considered by a court of law; then, the consequences may be that the TemporalSemantics are considered negative to an extent whereby the webizen owner wants to migrate away, to a system that may in-turn support different Values (ie: an environment that does not support ValuesCredentials).

As such, Whilst there are an array of very difficult considerations that need to be worked through as a WebScience problem, the underlying belief is that the closest technical solution; is likely to be related to the Solid Specifications and in-turn solid protocol which needs to be supported for interoperability purposes anyway.

From an Artificial Intelligence perspective, a means for people to migrate needs to be considered. the options to achieve these sorts of outcomes, have not been evaluated yet.

It is expected that there will be an array of qualities that the Webizen & Web Civics Ecosystems will offer, that are not otherwise available. Whilst it is likely that the creation of a solution will invoke a market of competitors creating similar works; it is still likely to be the case that there will be significant differences.

3rd Party Rights

The means to ensure that a person, regardless of their circumstances, are able to migrate; should not disaffect or cause injury to others. This needs to be considered also, as there are various consequences that are not purely about 'data portability', but rather social informatics more broadly.

Enforcability of Rules

Whilst very best efforts are being made to seek to ensure that the environment addresses SocialAttackVectors and other threats that may otherwise cause harm to persons in a manner that is unfair; part of what is required to achieve these sorts of outcomes, is, at the end of the day - the ability for a TheWebizenCharter, WebizenAlliance member to boot a person off their system and cease to provide any support or assistance for that entity.

Whilst this does not mean that a provider has any right to decide any lawful punishment that may apply to the subject of any such form of action; and whilst any judgement made by an appropriate legal tribunal and/or court of law (or indeed also via legislature); there is also an array of obligations that are built into the webizen ecosystem which require stewards (alliance charter / webizen alliance members / values-credentials related agents) to process and consequentially address. If the consequences of those circumstances results in an outcome that means the data-subject is excommunicated; then, they still need to be provided the means to have somewhere else to go.

There are also an array of Ontological Notations that are necessarily produced, as to provide an VerifiableClaims&Credentials that will be rendered against TemporalSemantics and ensure any disaffected parties may take any further disputes to a court of law for review and/or lawful determinations in relation to the circumstances, etc.

Objectively, this is not the sort of event that is sought to occur; however, there are circumstances where the nature of a persons actions is of a kind, that requires action and most often these circumstances would also invoke a situation where reporting a matter to an appropriate law enforcement body should be part of the procedural processes employed by WebizenAlliance members. However, it is not always the case that situations of a serious nature end-up being investigated or appropriately investigated; in which case, the consequence of on-going harms that may otherwise occur is not considered to be supportive of any factors relating to the CommercialModels including but not limited to ESG considerations, and it is important that there is a right to act; and to seek to form SocialFactors related considerations about how to address complex issues in a proportionate and responsible manner.. These sorts of works are complex and will require time and expertise of various persons, which is in-turn only reasonably able to occur after the Webizen3.0 solutions are operationally in-place. An interim solution will be required before that occurs.

Data Formats

Most of the data-systems are designed using Semantic Web technologies; or in other words, its put together using an ecosystem of open-standards in a specified manner, to create something new. Nonetheless, the underlying data (semantic web structures, etc.) can, somewhat easily, be exported in formats that can be usefully employed by other 'apps'; but, the ecosystems solution characteristics, aren't simply about the data-format of the data only.

To Some-Degree, attempting to migrate away from the webizen environment, may become as difficult as seeking to migrate away from the use of InternetStrategy where there is no alternative that performs a similar sort of function (yet - noting the future for Blockchains, is unknown).

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Last updated on 1/24/2023