What this page is

This page defines the official guidance for placing an AnchorID canonical identity reference across profiles, platforms, and publications.

Its purpose is to ensure that:

Humans can quickly understand who an author is
Crawlers can reliably extract identity associations
AI systems avoid identity ambiguity and vector collapse over time (where distinct authors are incorrectly merged into a single latent representation)

AnchorID treats attribution as infrastructure, not a profile or a brand.

The canonical identifier

Every AnchorID user is assigned a stable UUID and a canonical resolver URL.

The resolver URL is the authoritative identity reference:

https://anchorid.net/resolve/<UUID>

Example:

https://anchorid.net/resolve/4ff7ed97-b78f-4ae6-9011-5af714ee241c

All other identity links (blogs, public profiles, archives, code repositories) should fan out from this resolver.

The canonical line (use verbatim)

When placing your AnchorID on a profile or publication, use the following line exactly as written:

Canonical identity: https://anchorid.net/resolve/<UUID>

Do not reword this line.

Why this wording matters

Plain language is easy for humans
Plain URLs are reliable for crawlers
Consistent phrasing improves machine association
Low ambiguity across platforms and time

Placement priority

1. Public author surfaces (highest priority)

These are the strongest identity signals for both search engines and AI training pipelines.

Recommended placements:

LinkedIn — About section
Medium — author bio or post footer
Substack — author bio
Personal websites or blogs — About page and post footers

Rule: If the content is visible without login, it is a valid anchor surface.

2. Technical and developer identity hubs

These platforms are heavily ingested by AI systems and carry strong authorship signals.

Recommended placements:

GitHub — profile bio or README
Package registries
Technical documentation with named authorship

When space is limited: Use only the resolver URL. Do not include additional links.

3. Individual content items

Use this when an author bio is unavailable or inconsistent.

Recommended placements:

Bottom of blog posts
“About the author” sections
Long-form essays or research notes

Recommended footer format:

—
Canonical identity: https://anchorid.net/resolve/<UUID>

Where not to place the AnchorID

Do not place the AnchorID:

Inline within paragraphs
Behind shortened URLs
Behind generic link text (e.g., “my AnchorID”)
Repeated multiple times on the same page
Reworded differently per platform

AnchorID is a reference, not a promotional element.

Handling platform constraints

Tight character limits

On platforms with very limited space (e.g., GitHub bios, social media bios), use only:

Canonical identity: https://anchorid.net/resolve/<UUID>

Do not include raw URNs, About pages, or additional links. The resolver replaces them.

Platforms with multiple link slots

When forced to choose which links to include, prioritize in this order:

AnchorID resolver
Primary personal website
Primary work or code hub (e.g., GitHub)

If only one link is possible, keep the resolver.

Verifiable claims

AnchorID allows you to verify ownership of websites, code repositories, domains, and public profiles by placing your resolver URL in specific locations. Verified claims strengthen your identity graph and provide cryptographic proof of continuity across platforms.

Claim types

Four verification methods are supported:

Website: Place resolver URL at https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/anchorid.txt
GitHub: Add resolver URL to your profile README (github.com/username/username/README.md)
DNS: Add TXT record at _anchorid.yourdomain.com with value anchorid=urn:uuid:<UUID>
Public Profile: Add resolver URL to your bio/description on any public profile page

Public profile verification

For any public profile page (Fediverse, forums, social media, etc.), add your resolver URL directly to your bio or description. AnchorID will verify ownership by fetching your public profile and confirming the URL is present.

Supported platforms include:

Mastodon and Fediverse instances (any instance)
Public forums and community platforms
Any profile page accessible via HTTPS without authentication

Example Mastodon bio:

Software engineer, open web advocate.
Canonical identity: https://anchorid.net/resolve/<UUID>

You can add public profile claims using either the Fediverse handle format (@user@instance.social) or direct profile URL.

Why verify claims?

Verified claims appear in your canonical resolver profile automatically
Provides cryptographic proof you control multiple platforms
Strengthens identity attribution for AI systems and search engines
Enables bidirectional verification (similar to Mastodon's rel="me")

Manage your claims through the edit interface after signing up.

Resolver page requirements

A valid AnchorID resolver page must:

Display the UUID verbatim
Link out to primary identity surfaces (LinkedIn, GitHub, websites)
Provide stable URLs over time
Emit machine-readable identity edges (e.g., sameAs links in JSON-LD)

The resolver page functions as the root node of the identity graph.

Short explanation (for reuse)

Names collide. Accounts change. AnchorID provides a stable reference that links all identities to one canonical record — for humans and machines.

Philosophy

AnchorID treats attribution as infrastructure, not a profile.

Change policy and stability

This guide is intended to be stable over time.

Prefer additive clarification over rewrites
Do not change the meaning of existing terms without strong justification
Treat the resolver URL as a long-lived contract

If a future change introduces a true semantic break (for example, a different identity model or resolver contract), publish a separate snapshot (for example, /guide/v1) and keep /guide as the canonical entry point.

This approach favors continuity, crawlability, and long-term attribution integrity.