add a correct way to check if an identity is own #20

positron commented 2023年07月27日 15:28:56 +02:00 (Migrated from gitea.pep.foundation)

The python adapter relies on the user_id being pEp_own_userId to check if an identity is own: if the userid is different then the identity is assumed not to be own. That is wrong (the Engine explicitly specifies that user_id being pEp_own_userId is a sufficient but not necessary condition for an identity to be own). Fix this, adding a proper method to check own-ness in the Identity class.

When this is done, update pmt not to rely on this wrong assumption (https://gitea.pep.foundation/pEp.foundation/pEp-mail-tool/issues/3 ).

@fdik confirmed that this requires fixing, and gave a rationale for the complicated way of handling this in the Engine: some existing address books automatically assign arbitrary user ids for own identities, and we want to use the identifiers they supply.

The python adapter relies on the user_id being `pEp_own_userId` to check if an identity is own: if the userid is different then the identity is assumed not to be own. That is *wrong* (the Engine explicitly specifies that user_id being `pEp_own_userId` is a sufficient but not necessary condition for an identity to be own). Fix this, adding a proper method to check own-ness in the Identity class. When this is done, update pmt not to rely on this wrong assumption (https://gitea.pep.foundation/pEp.foundation/pEp-mail-tool/issues/3 ). @fdik confirmed that this requires fixing, and gave a rationale for the complicated way of handling this in the Engine: some existing address books automatically assign arbitrary user ids for own identities, and we want to use the identifiers they supply.