NVO987 | Identity Node

Decentralized digital identity for did:web:identity.nvo987.us

Personal research identity and decentralized web infrastructure maintained by independent researcher Nicholas Van-Orton.

Infrastructure Overview

This website functions as the decentralized digital identity node associated with the identifier did:web:identity.nvo987.us. The site serves as the primary public reference point for the corresponding identity infrastructure, metadata structures, and research-related resources.

The purpose of the infrastructure is to establish a stable and persistently referencable digital identity that connects research activities, scholarly publications, cultural projects, and related digital resources within a unified framework. The system operates as a central identification layer for the network of associated domains, data sources, and metadata services.

The identity infrastructure is built upon open web standards, including Decentralized Identifiers (DID), JSON-LD based semantic data structures, as well as RDF, FOAF, RSS and Atom metadata formats. These technologies enable research profiles, publication records, and related knowledge graph structures to be accessible in machine-readable and interoperable formats within the decentralized web environment.

The architecture of the system provides a long-term sustainable digital identity and metadata layer that supports the stable identification of scholarly references, the structured publication of research resources, and the interoperable integration of related datasets within the infrastructure of the semantic web.

Decentralized Identifier (DID)

The central element of the infrastructure is the did:web:identity.nvo987.us identifier. This identifier is a web-based identity built on the W3C Decentralized Identifiers standard.

Identity Discovery and Metadata

The following resources provide access to the metadata and configuration files of the identity infrastructure through standardized .well-known endpoints. These machine-readable services allow external systems, federated networks, and semantic web applications to automatically discover and retrieve information associated with the decentralized identity.

These endpoints primarily serve identity discovery, interoperability, and security purposes, allowing different services to identify the infrastructure in a standardized way and access the related metadata.

DID Resolution

The decentralized identifier used within this identity infrastructure follows the W3C DID specification and is implemented using the did:web method.

The DID associated with this identity node is:

did:web:identity.nvo987.us

DID resolution allows external systems to retrieve the machine-readable DID document that describes the identity, public cryptographic keys, and verification methods associated with the identifier.

The DID document can be accessed directly via the identity domain using the standard resolution path.

DID document:
https://identity.nvo987.us/.well-known/did.json

Cryptographic Verification

The authenticity of the identity is based on public key cryptography. The public keys associated with the system allow external systems, applications, or research infrastructures to cryptographically verify the origin and integrity of documents and metadata related to the identity.

Using the public keys, it is possible to verify that a given document has indeed been signed with the private key associated with the identity, and that the content has not been modified since publication. This mechanism plays a fundamental role in decentralized identity systems, as it enables the establishment of trust relationships without the need for a centralized certification authority.

The following resources contain the public keys associated with the identity infrastructure and their machine-readable representations.

Verifiable Credentials

The decentralized identity infrastructure associated with the NVO987 research environment supports the use of Verifiable Credentials (VCs) as defined by the W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model.

Verifiable credentials allow structured claims about a researcher, their affiliations, or their scholarly activities to be expressed in machine-readable form and verified cryptographically.

These credentials may include statements related to research identity, authorship, organizational roles, or other professional assertions that can be validated using decentralized identifier (DID) infrastructure.

Within the NVO987 identity node, verifiable credentials can be used to represent structured claims associated with the decentralized identifier did:web:identity.nvo987.us.

Federated Identity

The research identity associated with the NVO987 infrastructure is connected to a broader ecosystem of federated digital platforms.

These federated connections allow the identity to interact with distributed social networks, research infrastructures, and decentralized communication protocols.

The identity node therefore acts as a central reference point linking the researcher’s presence across multiple federated environments.

Examples include platforms based on protocols such as ActivityPub and other decentralized identity frameworks used within the broader Fediverse ecosystem.

Long-Term Identity Persistence

The NVO987 identity infrastructure is designed with long-term persistence in mind.

The system combines several complementary mechanisms to ensure that the research identity remains verifiable and accessible over extended periods of time.

Together these layers create a resilient identity infrastructure capable of maintaining verifiable research metadata across evolving web environments.

Digitally Signed Documents

The identity infrastructure publishes several cryptographically signed documents that formally describe the ownership, research scope, and semantic data structures associated with the decentralized identity node.

Each document contains structured machine-readable data together with a digital signature generated using the private cryptographic key associated with the decentralized identifier did:web:identity.nvo987.us. The corresponding public key is published within the identity infrastructure and allows external systems to independently verify the authenticity of the documents.

Digital signatures provide mathematical proof that the documents originate from the same cryptographic identity and that the content has not been altered since publication. This mechanism plays a central role in decentralized identity systems where trust must be established without relying on centralized certification authorities.

The signature process involves computing a cryptographic hash of the document using a secure hash function such as SHA-256. The resulting hash is then signed using the private key of the identity, producing a digital signature that can be verified using the corresponding public key.

Within the NVO987 identity infrastructure, signatures are generated using modern public-key cryptography, typically based on the Ed25519 signature algorithm. This algorithm is widely used in decentralized identity systems due to its strong security guarantees, high performance, and compact key size.

Verification Overview

External researchers, automated systems, and semantic web applications can verify the integrity of the signed documents by performing the following steps:

  1. Download the signed document from the identity node.
  2. Retrieve the public verification key published by the identity infrastructure.
  3. Compute the SHA-256 hash of the document content.
  4. Verify that the digital signature matches the hash using the public key associated with did:web:identity.nvo987.us.
  5. Confirm that the document has not been modified since the time of signature.

If the verification succeeds, the document can be considered authentic and cryptographically linked to the decentralized identity node.

Signed Documents

Blockchain Timestamp Anchoring

In addition to cryptographic signatures, certain documents within the identity infrastructure are anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain using the OpenTimestamps protocol.

OpenTimestamps provides a decentralized proof of existence by committing the cryptographic hash of a document into the Bitcoin blockchain. This mechanism creates an immutable timestamp demonstrating that the document existed at or before a specific point in time.

Timestamp proof files use the .ots format and can be independently verified using OpenTimestamps verification tools. These proofs ensure long-term persistence and verifiable publication records for identity documents and research metadata.

The combination of cryptographic signatures and blockchain-anchored timestamps provides a strong integrity model for the decentralized identity infrastructure, ensuring both authorship verification and immutable publication evidence.

All signed documents are published in open machine-readable formats such as JSON or JSON-LD and are designed to be compatible with decentralized identity verification workflows, semantic web infrastructures, and automated research data processing systems.

Research Infrastructure Domains

The NVO987 identity node operates within a distributed network of interconnected domains forming the broader research and digital infrastructure associated with the decentralized identifier did:web:identity.nvo987.us.

Each domain within this network serves a specific functional role, ranging from research publication and knowledge graph hosting to social federation, semantic data services, and experimental decentralized web technologies.

Together these domains form a modular infrastructure that supports research activities, digital identity management, semantic web interoperability, and the publication of machine-readable scholarly resources.

The domains listed below represent the primary public entry points of the NVO987 research infrastructure.

The modular architecture of the domain network allows the infrastructure to evolve over time while maintaining a stable decentralized identity layer anchored at identity.nvo987.us.

Organizational Entity

Within the semantic structure of the decentralized identity infrastructure, a cultural and research association appears as an organizational entity.

NVO987 – Culture Visuelle Moderne et Contemporaine

Cultural and research association (France)

The association is related to modern and contemporary visual culture, as well as to the relationships between artistic practices and cultural research.

The data associated with this entity are included in the semantic data structures linked to the decentralized identifier and provide a descriptive representation of the related activities.

Official Records

Researcher Profile

Nicholas Van-Orton

Nicholas Van-Orton

Nicholas Van-Orton is an independent researcher working at the intersection of decentralized digital identity, semantic web technologies, and computational approaches to cultural research. His work explores how machine-readable identity systems, knowledge graphs, and cryptographic verification mechanisms can support the long-term stability and interoperability of scholarly and cultural infrastructures on the decentralized web.

His current research program includes the development of the Civilizational Interpretive Ratio model, which examines the relationship between the increasing complexity of autonomous computational systems and the interpretive capacity of human agents operating within technological and cultural environments.

In parallel, his work in art history focuses on the role of color as a generative principle in the work of Sonia Delaunay and in broader contexts of modern and contemporary visual culture, including the interaction between algorithmic image generation and historical color theory.

He is the founder and president of the cultural and research association NVO987 – Culture Visuelle Moderne et Contemporaine, which develops interdisciplinary research projects at the intersection of visual culture, digital humanities, and decentralized knowledge infrastructures.

Machine-Readable Identity Document

The researcher profile is published as a structured machine-readable identity document in JSON-LD format. This document forms part of the semantic identity infrastructure associated with the decentralized identifier did:web:identity.nvo987.us.

Identity document:
https://identity.nvo987.us/profile/person.jsonld

SHA-256 checksum:
b620507312c5e97566a3c6cfaf99144fefc18a0da7d941401dfa0f5f58fb0368

Checksum file:
https://identity.nvo987.us/profile/person.jsonld.sha256

Blockchain Timestamp Proof

The identity document is anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain using the OpenTimestamps protocol. These timestamp proof files provide verifiable evidence that the document existed at or before a specific point in time.

Timestamp proof file (1):
https://identity.nvo987.us/profile/person.jsonld.ots

Timestamp proof file (2):
https://identity.nvo987.us/profile/person.jsonld-1.ots

Brand Identity Metadata

The identity infrastructure also publishes a semantic brand identity description using JSON-LD. This document provides structured metadata describing the NVO987 research and cultural infrastructure within the semantic web ecosystem.

Brand identity document:
https://identity.nvo987.us/brand.jsonld

Timestamp proof (1):
https://identity.nvo987.us/brand.jsonld.ots

Timestamp proof (2):
https://identity.nvo987.us/brand.jsonld-1.ots

Decentralized Web Identity (ENS / IPFS)

In addition to the web-based decentralized identifier, the NVO987 identity infrastructure is also connected to the blockchain-based naming system Ethereum Name Service (ENS).

The ENS domain nvo987.eth acts as a decentralized identity reference within the Ethereum ecosystem and resolves to distributed content hosted on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS).

ENS profile:
https://app.ens.domains/nvo987.eth

Decentralized website (ENS / IPFS):
https://nvo987.eth.limo

Decentralized mirror – culturevisuelle.satoshi (IPFS):
NVO987 – Culture Visuelle Moderne et Contemporaine – Web3 Identity Domain

Research Data

The identity infrastructure publishes structured research datasets that describe publications, research projects, and scholarly documents associated with the NVO987 research environment.

These datasets are published in machine-readable JSON format to support automated data processing, semantic web integration, and interoperability with external research infrastructures.

The data files listed below form part of the broader knowledge graph associated with the decentralized identifier did:web:identity.nvo987.us.

Together these datasets contribute to the semantic knowledge graph maintained by the NVO987 identity node and enable external systems to access structured research metadata in a standardized and interoperable form.

Specification and Source

This identity infrastructure is based on the W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.1 standard, which defines the core data model, resolution mechanisms, and interoperability principles of decentralized identity systems.

The official specification is available at the following link:

W3C – Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.1

Contact

For research inquiries, academic collaboration, or questions related to the decentralized identity infrastructure, you may contact the researcher using the addresses below.