The right place, to find everyone's public key (and to get one).
We verify that people are people, so you are not wasting your time internacting with an AI. We also verify that, on the internet, people are who they say they are.
A Public Key Registry is like a safe library full of special digital keys. Everyone’s public keys are stored there.
If you want to send your friend a secret note. You go to the library, find your friend’s public key, and use it to lock the note. Now only your friend, with their private key, can unlock and read it. Even if someone else finds the note, it stays private.
If you write a note and want your friend to be sure it’s really from you and that no one has changed the letter in transit, you use your private key to put a special “stamp” (signature) on the note. Your friend can grab your public key from the library and check the stamp. If it matches, they know the note is truly from you and hasn’t been changed.
So the registry is just the trusted place where everyone knows where to find the right public keys.