[OpenID] Fwd: Excellent critique of OpenID usability

Fri Aug 17 21:16:59 UTC 2007

I see these complaints about OpenID.net not being understandable to end
users and I totally agree with that assessment. But that was never the goal,
and I think simply slapping up a list of openid providers would be
inadequate. 

OpenID is a protocol, not an service offering or even a technology that a
user can use directly. Hence, I don't see why (as OpenID, the protocol)
should be marketed or even explained to end-users, IMHO. W3C doesn't market
HTTP to end users, it markets the web (to the extent it markets to end users
at all). This is like promoting the web by putting up links to web servers
and web hosting companies. 

I don't think the community has actually figured out what messages are to
end users (though I know the marketing group of the OIDF is actively working
on this). 

Right now, I'm simply not all that concerned about end-users not
understanding openid.net - it was never intended for them, any more than RFC
2616 was intended for users of the web. I think openid RPs and OPs need to
describe to their own users what the experience is going to be at *their
site* - the bottom line is that the user experience for each RP & OP can
vary quite a bit - compare, for example, the user experience on Jyte vs. the
user experience on Technorati. 

What the community needs to do is provide the very basic cognitive structure
that the RPs and OPs can be plugged into. That's it.  OpenID is a piece of a
new way of thinking about online digital identity (user-centric,
card/identifier-centric, not service/provider-centric identity) and *that*
has to be explained to the user - only then can OpenID be understood in
context in any sort of meaningful (non-technical) way. 

So, coming around to the topic, I think it would be useful for the user's
perspective to put together a good presentation/document/wiki page(s) on
user-centric identity (as opposed to a multitude of username/passwords) and
how OpenID fits into this space - I'm sure there's something good out there
to start with (or just use)? 

Anyone want to work on this at barcamp block? 

     -Gabe

  _____  

From: general-bounces at openid.net [mailto:general-bounces at openid.net] On
Behalf Of Stephen Paul Weber
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 1:38 PM
To: openid-general
Subject: [OpenID] Fwd: Excellent critique of OpenID usability

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Stephen Paul Weber <singpolyma at gmail.com>
Date: Aug 17, 2007 4:37 PM 
Subject: Re: [OpenID] Excellent critique of OpenID usability
To: Eric Norman <ejnorman at doit.wisc.edu>

I must admit that openid.net should hide all geekery on another page and
provide a short list of OPs

On 8/17/07, Eric Norman <ejnorman at doit.wisc.edu> wrote:

On Aug 17, 2007, at 11:10 AM, Simon Willison wrote:

> "OpenID: Great idea, bewildering consumer experience"
> http://miksovsky.blogs.com/flowstate/2007/08/openid-great-id.html 
>
> This is a really valuable article. It's a critique of OpenID by a
> usability guy ( http://miksovsky.blogs.com/about.html ) - it's pretty 
> comprehensive, and provides some useful suggestions for improving
> things at the end.

Yes it is.  Well worth reading.

And I just made a comment on his blog that most on this list
probably won't want to read.  (Mercy sakes, did I ever put too 
much cynicism on my Corn Flakes this morning).

Eric Norman
http://ejnorman.blogspot.com

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