I really like the green checkmark system in Mastodon, but when relying on them for trust it's important to keep in mind *what* you are trusting:

* The security of the remote site (hacked site could vouch for an attacker)
* The security of the Mastodon instance (same)
* The integrity of the Mastodon instance (a modified version could let the owner disable the remote check)

This is one reason why I like self-owned instances on the account owner's domain.
#security #trust #GreenCheckmark

@kyle For $8/mo I'll keep a list of accounts that are for realsies real.

@shawnp0wers If someone had enough trust from the community and there were sufficient demand I could actually see that kind of service where someone performs strong identity verification and vouches for accounts from their site.