User Agent

Full Title or Meme

A digital Entity that is operating at the consent and authority of the user.

Context

When discussing the use of the internet by a user, what is really meant is the presence of the user's agent on an internet connection.

Problems

• Nearly any application running on a user's device is allowed to access the internet and claim that it represents the user. There is no built-in mechanism to test this assertion by an internet connected service. The internet was designed to connect computer systems, and that is all it can be relied upon to do.
• Any Web Site that wishes to create a Persistent Identifier for a User will need to take responsibility for any necessary Assurance that the program running on the user's device really does reflect the will of the user.
• Most of the larger enterprises operating on The Web prefer to supply a Native App to the users device to improve the User Experience for that site.

Solutions

• The most common way for Users to access a Web Site is with a web browser from some well-know browser provider.
• While current web browser do allow Web Sites to include programs as JavaScript to run within the browser, but do provide a very restricted Sandbox where the script must run.