Moving AX Forward (WAS RE: SREG namespace URI rollback)

[Recordon, David]

Johnny,
I see a lot of, at least my initial confusion, coming from there being
multiple documents.  This is why I urge merging the transport and
metadata since the reality is they currently are only being used with
each other.  As the metadata document doesn't actually define a new
format, rather references existing formats, I am unsure why it cannot
just be a section in the transport document.  It is understood that you
must use the metadata format for the schema URLs in the transport, so
the two documents really are coupled to begin with.

I agree that you need to bootstrap a set of attributes for people using
AX.  As I have done so in the past, I'd encourage this work happen
within the ID Schemas project (http://idschemas.idcommons.net/) versus
defining First Name yet again for openid.net.  I have no problem with
the spec listing a set of schema URLs, I just strongly feel that
anything non-OpenID specific should be hosted and defined elsewhere
since so many people have already done it.  I do understand the need for
the schema URL hosting the metadata document, which is why I am
advocating this work be done as part of the ID Schemas project to
provide this flexibility.

--David

-----Original Message-----
From: Johnny Bufu [mailto:johnny at sxip.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2007 12:39 PM
To: Recordon, David
Cc: Dick Hardt; OpenID specs list
Subject: Re: Moving AX Forward (WAS RE: SREG namespace URI rollback)


On 4-Apr-07, at 12:18 PM, Recordon, David wrote:
> One thing that I do think would be worthwhile in smoothing more of 
> this SREG/AX confusion would be adding SREG support to Sxip's OpenID 
> libraries.

This is on the todo list, and judging by the interest showed by some
contributors could happen any day now.

> Any thoughts on spec consolidation

> I think I'd propose the following:
>  - Remove http://openid.net/specs/openid-attribute-
> types-1_0-02.html (I
> do not believe OpenID should define its own schema elements for things

> like "First Name" which are not specific to OpenID, defining a URL for

> an OpenID enabled URL for example I think would be fine on OpenID.net)

I understand that point of view and we were looking into determining
what would be the best place where this spec could live.

However, since the AX's adoption will depend (at least in the beginning,
before the metadata and automatic acquisition mechanisms are finalized)
on the participants using the same "names" for the attributes they
transfer. From this point of view, I believe AX could use openid.net's
recommendation (if endorsement is too much) to use a set of names / URIs
for the most commonly transfered attributes.  
(Kind of like what made SREG successful -- having the spec provide /
something/ for a jump-start).

>  - Merge http://openid.net/specs/identity-attribute-
> metadata-1_0-01.html
> into http://openid.net/specs/openid-attribute-exchange-1_0-04.html.

I don't think we should merge the AX core with the metadata description
document. The first one describes the "transport layer"  
for attributes and is reasonably close to a final v1, while the metadata
is far from being final (no concrete options identified that would drive
to consensus) and its progress is rather slow.

> and seperating policy from technology?

Not sure what you mean by this.


Johnny