ietf-openpgp
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Re: Closing the openpgp working group

2008-03-14 13:59:29

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And while we are at it, I would suggest to express V5 fingerprints  
(as well
as key IDs) either in octal or in decimal. This is not a  
cryptography issue
(*), but a usability issue on (typically mobile) devices with  
numeric-only
keypads. As an added benefit, it would make the keyID ~ telephone  
number
metaphor more sustainable.

For such a decision, OpenPGP could earn the ethernal gratitude of  
the entire
telecom industry.

I think we should not tie non SHA-1 fingerprints to V5 key ids.

I like the proposal someone had at one point that you have a syntax  
that includes the hash number. Thus, a present fingerprint would become:

2:012356789ABCDEF...

A SHA-256 version would be:

8:FEDCBA987654.....

Within this, if you want a shorter version of the fingerprint, you  
simply truncate the right-most portion (which "fixes" the present  
mechanism).

Once you have this mechanism, a way to do a fingerprint in decimal or  
octal is pretty easy. It's also easy for telephones to map the ':' to  
a '*' (e.g.).

I leave the exact signal for a different radix as an exercise for  
someone to suggest.

        Jon


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