Absolutely correct. My apologies again for slipping back into the internal jargon. Let's rephrase those latest questions (VI-VIII) using only common nouns and concepts understandable to a researcher unfamiliar with the specific "UDIF" proposal. The focus is on the *functions* and *goals* of such a system. Here are the reframed questions (continuing the numbering): **VI. Feasibility & Integration with Service Alternatives (Enabling Choice Beyond Major Platforms):** 11. **Improving Email/Messaging Portability & Security:** * Beyond just using standard email forwarding (MX records), how could a **universal personal identifier linked to DNS** specifically help users discover and connect using *end-to-end encrypted* or *decentralized messaging protocols*? What kind of standardized information (e.g., public keys, specific protocol endpoints) would need to be discoverable via DNS records associated with the personal identifier to make this work reliably? * What are the primary obstacles (like spam, key discovery, legacy compatibility) facing current privacy-focused email services or open-source email systems? Could a standardized way of discovering user preferences or configurations via their **DNS-based personal identifier** potentially help overcome any of these obstacles? 12. **Enabling User-Controlled Storage for Applications:** * For online applications like **photo sharing** or **collaborative document editing**, what are the main technical difficulties if these applications were designed to store user data on storage chosen by the user (e.g., a personal server, or decentralized storage like IPFS discovered via the user's **DNS-based personal identifier**)? (Consider issues like managing permissions, generating previews efficiently, or enabling real-time collaboration on data not held centrally). * Are there existing open standards for defining *access permissions* for data stored on decentralized systems (like IPFS) that could realistically be linked to or discovered via a **DNS-based personal identifier**? 13. **Integrating with Federated & Decentralized Social Media:** * How could a **DNS-based personal identifier** serve as a stable way for users to manage their identity within **federated social networks** (like Mastodon)? For example, could DNS records associated with the personal identifier reliably point to a user's current profile address on a specific instance (e.g., `@[email protected]`), making it easier for them to migrate between instances without losing their core discoverability? * Is it technically feasible for users to store their **social graph data** (like contact lists) on personally controlled storage (e.g., IPFS, personal data pods) and have that location be discoverable via their **DNS-based personal identifier**? What would be the main challenges (privacy, synchronization, application support) in enabling applications to use this distributed social graph data? 14. **User Choice for AI Services:** * If individuals prefer using **open-source AI models** or specific third-party AI services rather than the default AI integrated into major platforms (like Google Search/Gemini or Microsoft Copilot), how could their **DNS-based personal identifier** be used to signal this preference? What kind of information (e.g., API endpoints, model names, configuration settings) could realistically be stored in DNS records for applications to discover and potentially use these alternative AI services on the user's behalf? * What are the practical difficulties in creating a *standardized* way to declare "AI service preferences" via DNS records that diverse applications could reliably understand and act upon? **VII. Grounding in Existing Open Source & Federated Solutions (Building on What Works):** 15. **Leveraging the Current Open Ecosystem:** * What are the most mature and widely used **open-source or federated alternatives** currently available for core digital services like email systems, file synchronization, social networking (e.g., ActivityPub/Mastodon), and collaborative software suites? * How would a **DNS-based personal identifier system** primarily *complement* these existing open solutions? Would its main value be in providing easier identity portability *between* these systems, better discovery *of users* across different instances/servers, or enabling new kinds of *interoperability* that don't currently exist? (The goal is to identify synergy, not claim replacement). **VIII. Avoiding Unrealistic Claims & Ensuring Added Value (Defining the Niche):** 16. **Unique Value Proposition of DNS-Based Personal Identifiers:** * Looking at the current landscape of identity technologies (including existing federated login systems like OpenID Connect, enterprise solutions like SAML, newer approaches like some DID methods, and platform-specific accounts), what specific problem does a **universal, user-controlled identifier system leveraging standard DNS for discovery** solve *uniquely well* or *more effectively* than these other approaches? (Focus on the combination of DNS's global scale, user control over discovery records, ability to point to diverse network types, and potential for standardization). * For an individual already using open/federated services (e.g., Mastodon for social, Nextcloud for files), what is the clearest, most tangible benefit they would gain from also having and using a **DNS-based personal identifier** as proposed? How does it improve their *existing* setup or enable something fundamentally new for them? These rephrased questions avoid the "UDIF" term and focus on the functional aspects and relationships with existing systems, which should make them much clearer for the external researcher. Thank you for insisting on this clarity.