Again: What's the good in OpenID for me?

Joseph A Holsten joseph at josephholsten.com
Mon Dec 8 23:15:58 UTC 2008


Márcio Vinícius Pinheiro wrote:
> Does anyone read this list?
Yes. Thank you for asking. You might check our archives if you still  
feel the need to doubt.

> I'm a user of Google, Blogger, Yahoo!, Flickr, Launchpad, and other  
> stuff.
> The openid.net says "OpenID eliminates the need for multiple  
> usernames across different websites, simplifying your online  
> experience."
> BUT I still have several usernames across different websites (all  
> of them with openID)?
Yes. This is not a question, and hardly raises one. OpenID gives  
websites the ability to eliminate a site specific username. Some  
sites really do use your OpenID for that, for example Jyte. Whether a  
site chooses to do that is their business. And whether you choose to  
use a site that doesn't take advantage of that is up to you.

> Let me go further:
> How can I make Yahoo know that "mviniciusmp" on Yahoo' systems is  
> the same of "marcioviniciusmp" on Google' systems? I still have  
> different accounts. I have many OpenIDs just because they invited  
> me to create separated IDs.
You might try emailing them. Maybe they've not considered it, and  
merely need your advice to make it happen. But I doubt it, especially  
in Yahoo's case. OpenID allows your ID provider to provide unique IDs  
for each site you log into. This is called delegated identity. When  
you log in with a Yahoo OpenID, they don't give your Yahoo username.  
They give an ID unique to each site you log in to.

> So again: What's the good in OpenID for me?

If these are the things you value, than not much. Some of us like not  
having to remember many passwords, but you don't mention that. Some  
of us like delegated identity, but you seem not to want that. The  
best thing OpenID can do for you today is give you the ammunition to  
talk with sites that don't do what you want, and show them a better  
way. I recommend you try to have a real conversation with the sites  
that aren't doing what you want, and persuade _them_ to change. Maybe  
you could start your own site, and demonstrate how much better it is  
the way you like it. Nothing encourages change like competitive  
pressure.

We don't have the power to change the internet. It doesn't work like  
that. OpenID gives sites the ability to change for the better. It's  
up to them to want to change.

http://josephholsten.com




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