[OpenID] Thinking About OpenID.com

[tom]

Hi David,

Personally I would not see this as a good way to spend the foundations 
resources. In fact I see this as "spreading out the problem".

Firstly Jason assumes that any entity on this planet is under a ".com" 
address (us Europeans may think ".eu"). Others would assume ".org" as 
OpenID is not a commercial service. Type "openid" into Google and you 
get the first entry as openid.net. Enter "openid" into the URL field of 
Firefox and you go straight to openid.net - The foundation has done it's 
job... people can find THE site.

Jasons second point assumes that the consumer, blog or journalist has 
not given any examples or recommendations of OPs. That would be as 
clever as me writing "Hey everybody, go and get a blog". As with each 
blog provider, it is for each OP to advertise and promote their services.

.... I know I know - you all rushed off to http://www.blog.com right;)

Back to "resources". I have written here openly about the long (and 
often dark") tunnel we have been down in usability with OpenID. We are 
out of that now and people a really starting to download our software 
and use OpenID [not just play with it]. In August we start to work with 
the HCI department at Uppsala university, Sweden to review the 
authentication process. We have also been working with the Swedish 
Institute of Assistive Technology on accessibility and I encourage the 
foundation to make similar links because for me the real issues are in 
usability and good consumer practises.

Just my passing thoughts:)

Tom



David Recordon wrote:
> Earlier today I came across a blog post (http://www.jason-preston.com/index.php/2008/03/18/why-openid-will-never-work/ 
> ) talking about some of the adoption hurdles around OpenID for normal  
> people.  The largest concern still seems to come from how OpenID.net  
> presents (or doesn't) itself in terms of being dead simple to actually  
> get an OpenID.  While I don't agree with every point that Jason makes,  
> I certainly understand what he is saying especially with how he ended  
> his response to my comment:
>
>  > I think it's just that the concept of OpenID is supposed to be  
> "braindead simple login for disparate web services,"
>  > and when you go to the page, what you see is "confusing multiple  
> login accounts, none of which you can do
>  > anything with from this page."
>
> Thus the thought in my head is one that has come up in the past,  
> though never anything we've done something about.  What if we actually  
> purchase OpenID.com (like Jason suggested) and use it to be a dead- 
> simple normal person destination site?  OpenID.net can remain more  
> targeted for developers and we can stop fighting the battle of trying  
> to make one site useful for everyone.
>
> Does this make sense to others?  Would people see this as a useful way  
> to spend OpenID Foundation resources?
>
> Thanks,
> --David
>
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>
>   


-- 
Tom Calthrop
Founding director, 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/