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The Four Inverse Functional Identifiers

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Learning Objective

Compare the four IFI forms across identification strength, privacy posture, and integration cost, and select the appropriate one for a given deployment scenario.

  • Bloom Level: Evaluating (L5)
  • Bloom Verb: compare, select
  • Library: p5.js

How to Use

  • Click any card in the 2x2 grid to load that IFI's full description, when-to-use guidance, when-NOT-to-use cautions, and a worked agent JSON example into the side panel.
  • Pick a scenario from the top bar — K-12 Elementary, University LMS, or Corporate L&D — and the MicroSim will recommend the appropriate IFI by selecting its card and showing deployment-specific reasoning at the top of the side panel.
  • The privacy badge on each card uses a red/yellow/green traffic-light convention: red = direct identifier, yellow = reversible/federated, green = configurable.

Specification

The full specification below is extracted from Chapter 5: Activities, Agents, and Learner Identity.

Type: interactive-infographic
**sim-id:** four-inverse-functional-identifiers<br/>
**Library:** p5.js<br/>
**Status:** Specified

**Learning objective (Bloom — Evaluating):** Compare the four IFI forms across identification strength, privacy posture, and integration cost, and select the appropriate one for a given deployment scenario.

**Layout:** A 2×2 grid of cards on the left (2/3), each card representing one IFI form; a side panel on the right (1/3) showing the selected card's full detail.

**Each card shows:**

- IFI name in a header bar (`mbox`, `mbox_sha1sum`, `openid`, `account`)
- A privacy badge (Red = direct identifying, Yellow = reversible, Green = configurable)
- A one-sentence summary
- A short example agent JSON block

**Interaction:**

- Hover a card to highlight; click to select. Side panel shows: full description, when-to-use guidance, when-not-to-use cautions, and a worked example
- Three preset scenario buttons across the top — "K-12 elementary," "University LMS," "Corporate L&D" — that recommend an IFI by highlighting the appropriate card and updating the side panel with deployment-specific reasoning

**Default canvas:** 1000×550px, responsive.

Implementation: p5.js for the card rendering and selection state; HTML overlay for the side panel and preset buttons.