There are really great challenges here. I personally want people to be able to assert things about other - remembering that this was originally a security features in a another sense i.e. as a mechanism or marking false identities.

I don't think stopping people naming and imaging people is the right solution. e.g. if I'm going to out @ye+QM09... as being "John" you can't stop me (that's my key in case you're worried).

I think things we can and could change are:

• the ritual of naming
• the algorithm showing names

The Ritual of Naming

Given this could be a dangeous thing to do, or a loving thing to do, I think it could be good to design the path and interface to reflect that. When you invoke the naming spell, the rest of your interface darkens out bringing focus and appropriate gravity to the occassion. The opening right has you read a messsage reminding you of the forces that you're playing with, about social dynamics, about love, and about abuse. It reminds you that if this ritual goes wrong people and community can be hurt (the caster included).

Socially filtered names

Johnny Null (whom I can no longer even invoke via mention because I've blocked) went on an abussive naming spree. The name he gave me was "Eunuch". But who gives a fuck... who even is that tool, who cares? I think the algorithms we use should reflect our social fabric. I love and agree with a lot of what's been said and proposed about existing and future implementations. I'd add that we can go further. We can read the social interactions between people. e.g. @noffle has known me long enough and we follow each other, and have been in enough conversations that you could perhaps safely assume that his nicknaming me @yupa was affectionate (he asked me as well). Meanwhile if I don't follow someone, have not been in conversations with me and they start labeling me ... that's probably abuse at worst, or poor social sense at best - a mark against that naming act, and a mark against the human doing it IMO.

Could be interesting to ask the scuttlebutt right now who is naming who and what their relationships seem to have been. e.g. did throw a like on that Yupa nicknaming. Have I subsequently liked things noffle has said since he nickanmed me and has used that name in messages to summon me?