[OpenID] Choice of recovery method(s)

[SitG Admin]

A recovery method is, in some circumstances, equivalent to a back 
door; claim that the primary account has been hacked, and you trump 
the trusted authentication method. If that primary authentication 
method (let's assume OpenID) does get hacked, though, or turns 
hostile/rogue (or is compromised/replaced), you *want* to be able to 
override its authority somehow. OpenID gives users an account with 
their OP (*it* worries about password recovery, to authenticate the 
user), and that OP an account (more, if multi-user) with its RP (*it* 
has to worry about password recovery, complicated by needing to 
decide whether to authenticate the OP or the user), and the sheer 
variety of password/recovery methods (and which might be reliably, 
why/when) could take paragraphs if I tried to go into it all.

The question I raise (for discussion) is whether security would be 
improved by setting up for flexibility, and then permitting the 
*user* to choose how their accounts would be configured for 
authentication and recovery?

-Shade