[OpenID] OpenID Extension to handle Emails Addresses?

[Hallam-Baker, Phillip]

You think that educating the public at large, the billion user population of the Internet is an easier proposition than changing a few pieces of code?
 
What is the value here that demands re-education?
 
 
There are several million email servers on the Internet. What is being proposed here is much simpler than running a mail server. 
 

________________________________

From: SitG Admin [mailto:sysadmin at shadowsinthegarden.com]
Sent: Thu 10/30/2008 4:45 PM
To: Hallam-Baker, Phillip
Cc: general at openid.net
Subject: Re: [OpenID] OpenID Extension to handle Emails Addresses?



>The Internet has an identifier for users - it is their email
>address. Trying to tech users to use anything else is pointless.

Once upon a time, users *didn't* have E-mail addresses as
identifiers. They learned. I'm sure they can learn something else the
same way.

>Identity providers:
>     This is a serious business. I don't consider it necessary to
>make barriers to entry any lower than they currently are for
>administering a mail server.

I'm currently providing an OpenID identity. My own. I don't consider
it necessary to create barriers to entry in the "running your own
identity provider" business. It may be "good for business" (other
people's), but it's not good for the decentralization part to raise
requirements until even the tech-savvy users whose only crime is not
acting under the umbrella of a rich corporation *can't* qualify to
run their own IDP!

>OK so now lets think about market building a bit. Lets try to
>embrace and extend the competition.

Are you sure you're with Verisign and not Microsoft? ;)

>The only real arguable point in what I wrote is that I do not have
>solid data on how users will react. It is my hypothesis that they
>will find an email address easier than a URL. If folk want to argue
>that point lets test it out.

I concede that users may find change more difficult than remaining as
they were. I'm still in favor of educating users to move forward - I
don't think it's pointless.

-Shade


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