In the four years since the board of JournalList first approved the specification document that is the heart of the trust.txt system, there has been an understanding that the whole system operates only behind the scenes.
It is not private or secret, it is actually totally transparent and makes clear relationships that may not have been discoverable before.
But it has never been public-facing. If as a user you are familiar with the idea of a robots.txt file, the trust.txt file is completely clear, but we understand that most users on the internet never look at that kind of thing.
So when in our work with the IPTC, one of the other members of that group proposed using trust.txt files as a part of a new public-facing system he was working on, we were intrigued.
Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash
That system, known as Cross-Platform Origin of Content, or XPOC, had been developed as a way to allow indicators of identity to become visible over social networks. What it did not have was a consistent place on websites that could be used to indicate trusted relationships. When the inventor of XPOC learned about trust.txt he realized that the need he had was already answered. It was a bit of a peanut-butter/jelly moment for both of us.
There’s a long way to go to make the internet more trustworthy in this particular way, but as you will see in this video, the possibilities are exciting for sure.
Internet Draft Submission
One other way that the trust.txt system is getting out there in the world is our submission of an Internet Draft to the IETF. You can see that draft here.
If this is gibberish to you, don’t worry about it. But if you are familiar with the IETF and the way that internet drafts work, you may want to take a look and feel free to comment. In short, the draft is a blend of our spec, and the XPOC proposal.