[OpenID] [OpenID board] Perceptions of OpenID

Johannes Ernst jernst+openid.net at netmesh.us
Mon Jan 5 22:02:34 UTC 2009 

I'm with Chris here.

The foundation was set up in a particular way in order to accomplish  
what, some years ago, we then saw as the right way of solving a  
particular set of problems.

As OpenID has gained adoption and real-world usage feedback comes in,  
the set of problems that need to be solved have moved, and the right  
ways of solving them are necessarily different, too.

I would encourage the new board to look at how it defines what it (and  
by extension, the OIDF) needs and wants to accomplish, and not be  
limited by what another board thought some years back.

It may come up with the same principles. But then, it also may not.


On Jan 5, 2009, at 12:26, Chris Messina wrote:

> Ok.
>
> So let me repeat back my takeaway: the foundation can not, will not,  
> and should not endorse any particular OpenID user experience.  
> However, it can support, patronize, solicit and otherwise help  
> promote user experience work that might bring about recommendations,  
> guidelines or actual interfaces.
>
> Similarly, the foundation might go about paying a firm to develop a  
> marketing plan, but can not say how OpenID should be used. Only that  
> it should be used. For things. ?
>
> I guess I'm a little confused here. I'm fine with setting up  
> boundaries for what the foundation can and can't do... and I'm  
> thinking that perhaps I just need to chair a non-foundation  
> committee that works on OpenID UX, because, in fact, I DO want to  
> come up with explicit recommendations and best practices that tell  
> people PRECISELY how to implement OpenID on their websites and in  
> their applications.
>
> I was trained as a designer and have worked in open source for the  
> last five years (I'm a baby still, I know), but I know that open  
> source tends to do really poorly when it comes to usable, consumer- 
> friendly design. While there's a little "government competing with  
> private enterprise" here, we MUST provide direction for people about  
> how to make OpenID usable, and can not merely rely on the private  
> sector to sort this out (since they've not provided solid  
> recommendations yet!). I don't think that the foundation should  
> provide its own OpenID provider, for example, but insomuch as people  
> are going to come to us looking for advice on how to make OpenID  
> work for them (including making it comprehensible by mere mortals),  
> we have to change our approach and give them something they can use.
>
> So, maybe this work happens outside the walls of the foundation...  
> but I'm going to need folks more familiar with the bylaws to explain  
> to me how to go about this work above the pale... I'm not interested  
> in stepping on toes, but the current allergy to OpenID UX work from  
> the foundation has to be overcome.
>
> Chris
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 9:05 AM, David Recordon  
> <drecordon at sixapart.com> wrote:
> Building on this (since I agree with Dick), it is however part of  
> the Foundation's job to help facilitate the community determining  
> the right UX where it can.  Thus hosting meetings, helping with  
> research, etc are all things the Foundation can and should be doing.
>
> --David
>
> On Jan 5, 2009, at 10:45 AM, Dick Hardt wrote:
>
>> Hi Chris
>>
>> I'm breaking it down along types of work.
>>
>> I do think it is the Foundation's job to do the marketing. It is in  
>> the charter.
>>
>> It is NOT the Foundation's job to determine the right UX -- which  
>> is why including the JanRain code on the Foundation website was so  
>> controversial (IMHO).
>>
>> The Foundation charter clearly states that the Foundation does NOT  
>> set the technical direction of OpenID.  I wanted to clarify this  
>> point in case you and other board members were not familiar with it.
>>
>> -- Dick
>>
>> On 4-Jan-09, at 5:37 PM, Chris Messina wrote:
>>
>>> It seems like you're breaking things down along the lines of  
>>> "what" comprises OpenID and "how" it advances in the marketplace  
>>> -- or at least that's how I'm interpreting your statement.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately marketing a shitty product won't get us very far, so  
>>> I'd say that UX is just as primary as marketing. It might not be  
>>> up to the board to "do" the UX work, but nor is it the board's job  
>>> to "do" the marketing.
>>>
>>> Facilitate both, certainly -- and given where we are -- I'd say  
>>> with equal vigor.
>>>
>>> Chris
>>>
>>> On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 3:31 PM, Dick Hardt <dick.hardt at gmail.com>  
>>> wrote:
>>> Chris, your comments bring up an important scope issue: I would  
>>> consider user experience to be a technical issue, and if so, not  
>>> an issue for the board to determine -- but an area for the board  
>>> to facilitate activity.
>>>
>>> Marketing of OpenID is clearly within the the scope of the board.
>>>
>>> -- Dick
>>>
>>>
>>> On 4-Jan-09, at 3:54 PM, chris.messina at gmail.com wrote:
>>>
>>> Absolutely. As aboard member, id love for my two areas to be user
>>> experience Nd marketing!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> board mailing list
>>> board at openid.net
>>> http://openid.net/mailman/listinfo/board
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Chris Messina
>>> Citizen-Participant &
>>>  Open Web Advocate-at-Large
>>>
>>> factoryjoe.com # diso-project.org
>>> citizenagency.com # vidoop.com
>>> This email is:   [ ] bloggable    [X] ask first   [ ] private
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> board mailing list
>>> board at openid.net
>>> http://openid.net/mailman/listinfo/board
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> board mailing list
> board at openid.net
> http://openid.net/mailman/listinfo/board
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Chris Messina
> Citizen-Participant &
>  Open Web Advocate-at-Large
>
> factoryjoe.com # diso-project.org
> citizenagency.com # vidoop.com
> This email is:   [ ] bloggable    [X] ask first   [ ] private
> _______________________________________________
> general mailing list
> general at openid.net
> http://openid.net/mailman/listinfo/general

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