[OpenID] Combining Google & Yahoo user experience research

[Chris Messina]

On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 12:52 PM, Martin Atkins <mart at degeneration.co.uk>wrote:

> Chris Messina wrote:
> >
> > I don't know that email verification via OpenID would necessarily reduce
> > or prevent spam. Spammers are really good at moving goalposts.
> >
>
> I think the main benefit would be that users wouldn't need to go and
> check their email every time they create a new user account.


+1. It also avoids the issue where activation emails end up in spam inboxes,
meaning users can get through the verification process much more quickly
(though it doesn't verify that they can *receive* emails, only that the
email address is under their control -- a nice feature for avoiding
registering mailing lists!).


> If email addresses are going to be allowed as OpenID identifiers, and on
> some RPs be the only supported identifiers for logging in, I think the
> need for a way to create synonyms in OpenID becomes much greater; I've
> already made wide use of an HTTP-based identifier, and I wouldn't want
> to "start again" were I to start using my email address.


This is called "identity consolidation". It's represented in XFN as rel-me
links (see the source of factoryjoe.com for an example). Portable Contacts
also provides links like this... eventually there will be some value in
having trusted "identity graph providers" that can validate a number of
identifiers for someone (phone, URL, email, etc). DandyID.org is working on
this, and it's something we're already looking at/doing in DiSo.

Chris

-- 
Chris Messina
Citizen-Participant &
 Open Technology Advocate-at-Large
factoryjoe.com # diso-project.org
citizenagency.com # vidoop.com
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