eye-dentity

could it be that identity is in the eye of the beholder?

In some e-mails going around, it was posed that identity is intrinsically linked to reputation. I'm not so sure ...

There's a duality to identity and reputation in a
real-world context.  I can identify a subject based on
information, but that subject's reputation with me
might be based on the context (e.g. fingerprints
identify an individual, maybe a criminal).  In other
cases, the subjects reputation becomes their identity,
in absence of any other information.

But I think Kim said it one-better ...

Trust decisions are always ultimately local - judgments
made from the vantage point of the "relying" party.  The
relying party needs always to evaluate who is positing
both identities and reputations, and act accordingly.