Modifications to key

[Robert J. Hansen]

Michael Nestler wrote:
> I'm new to this list, so if this has been answered before or is 
> obvious, I apologise.

No apologies necessary.  Welcome to the GnuPG community.  :)

> If someone signs my public key, does this change the key?

Yes.

> i.e. would that render a copy of the public key on my website
> useless?

No.

> What about if I add another User ID?

Same answer--yes, it will change your key; no, it will not render it
useless.  If something is added to the key, it doesn't invalidate
existing copies of the key.  They'll still work perfectly fine.

As an example, let's say that I have key 0x5B8709EB on my website for
download.  (I do, so this isn't too much of a stretch.)  Let's say that
I want to add a user ID.  I do so, and after modifying the key send it
on to the keyserver.  Someone who gets my key from the keyserver will
get the updated version with the new user ID on it; someone who gets my
key from my web page will get the old version without the new user ID;
but both keys can be used to encrypt messages to me, or to verify the
messages I sign.

If you have any other questions, feel free to holler.  :)