i-name

I-names are one form of an XRI — an OASIS open standard for digital identifiers designed for sharing resources and data across domains and applications.

Such an abstraction layer is not new — URNs (Uniform Resource Names) and other persistent identifier architectures have the same effect.

I-numbers are machine readable identifiers (similar to IP addresses) that are assigned to a resource (for instance, a person, organization, application or file) and never reassigned.

And the same HTTP-based XRI resolution protocol can be used to resolve either an i-name or an i-number to an XRDS document describing the target resource.

To resolve =Mary.Jones into an email address would first require Mary's permission, and such requests can be verified by i-brokers to make sure they are legitimate.