[OpenID] OpenID required

[tom]

Hi Nick,

For us it was near suicide but that would not stop me doing it again;)

We switched AROUNDMe (our collaboration web site software) to only 
OpenID / no registration software. This was a huge effort on our part 
(ground up rebuild) and after release our downloads / take-up froze. The 
problem was that people left our site to get an OpenID and promptly got 
lost never to return.

We released a Personal OpenID server to part solve this and in a few 
weeks we'll release an OpenID server with a plugin to our collaboration 
server so that people can register as usual (even though they are 
actually registering on a remote OpenID server). We put a lot of effort 
into our OpenID screens and only now is it paying off.

We too love OpenID and long term it will pay off, however the process 
has been painful and there have been many times when we've been close to 
simply adding back in the registration screen. My honest advise it to 
make OpenID feel really smooth, explain it well (remembering that people 
don't read web sites any more) and accept that people are just used to 
registering on web sites - make it feel like that, but use OpenID - 
liberate them without them even knowing it and you'll have a winner - 
place a barrier there and you'll loose them;)

Hope it helps,

Tom



Nick Cernis | Goburo wrote:
>
> We love OpenID.
>
> Shortly we'll be releasing our first OpenID-enabled web app into the 
> wild, and are currently considering making it a condition at signup 
> that an OpenID is required. There would be no alternative sign up 
> method - get an OpenID or do not pass go. Is it a good idea 
> championing OpenID in this way, or do people here consider it 
> commercial suicide given OpenID's fairly narrow (but rapidly growing) 
> uptake? My assumption is that one day OpenID will be a replacement for 
> traditional sign-up methods - why not start the revolution now and 
> give it a further kick-start?
>
> Naturally we'd make it very easy for people to get an OpenID if they 
> don't have one (we're launching an OpenID server/provider too), but 
> I'd be very keen on hearing the community's thoughts, particularly 
> whether anyone else has been brave enough to go for an all-or-nothing 
> approach?  
>
> --
> Nick Cernis | Director
> Goburo Limited
>
> West Yorkshire, UK
>
> T: +44 (0)113 815 1150
> E: _nick at goburo.com_ <mailto:nick at goburo.com>
>
> Visit us at:
> _http://www.goburo.com_ <http://www.goburo.com/>
>
>
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-- 
Tom Calthrop
Founder, Barnraiser.

Dedicated to giving people the tools they need to share 
knowledge and advance society through social software.

Web site: http://www.barnraiser.org/
OpenID: http://tom.calthrop.info/