[OpenID] host-meta and "acct:"

[SitG Admin]

I think I have a better understanding now. I will try to explain it:

>Are you suggesting that you guys know something which those guys didn't know?

No. But . . . forward-compatibility.

History has shown us that we (and others) will continue to have ideas 
that are not covered by existing specs, requiring us to either come 
up with new specs or modify existing specs. We don't need to 
specifically anticipate these ideas, we don't need to know all the 
details, to foresee that they (probably) *will* be pursued. If, at 
that time, the XRD spec does not support them, their development will 
be slowed down, and their implementors may go make a rival spec to 
accomplish/support what *they* are after, faster than XRD can be 
modified to allow for it. This splinters what would otherwise be a 
single XRD community into several similar groups, and divides the 
attention of those whose interest is rooted more in the compatible 
ideas than steadfast loyalty to particular specs.

By putting greater flexibility into the XRD spec than any specific 
*need* has been shown for, compatibility with future ideas is made 
more likely. Today the Subject may be necessary for 99% of use cases; 
that percentage may change again in future, though.

-Shade