Identifiersometimes

Identifiersometimes is a term used in information design and computer science to describe a concept in which an identifier associated with an entity is present in some contexts but omitted in others. The idea highlights variability in when and where identifiers appear, and how systems handle partial identifications, privacy concerns, and data minimization.

Etymology and scope: The term combines “identifier” and “sometimes” to denote intermittent presence. It is a neologism used in discussions about data models, API design, and analytics to discuss partially observable identities rather than a widely adopted standard. While not a formal specification, identifiersometimes is used to frame design decisions around when identifiers should be required, optional, or omitted.

Concept and usage: In practice, an identifiersometimes situation occurs when a system can reference an entity with an identifier in some operations but operates in a privacy-preserving or anonymous mode in others. This can affect referential integrity, auditing, and personalization. Designers address it with nullable fields, optional identifiers, or alternative keys such as pseudonymous tokens. When used, the concept encourages explicit handling of missing identifiers in data pipelines and API contracts to prevent ambiguous behavior.

Examples: A customer database that exposes a user_id in some endpoints but allows anonymous browsing where user_id is omitted; an analytics event where a session_id is included for authenticated users but not for anonymous users.

Related concepts include optional identifiers, tokenization, pseudonymous identifiers, and data minimization principles.