Sign in with your OpenID
- What’s an OpenID?
- OpenID is a decentralized authentication system that allows you to identify yourself anywhere with just a URI, or URL as some folks like to call it. In other words, you type in your designated web address and it proves to me that you are who you say you are. Which makes it one of the most awesome things ever.
- How do I get one?
- You might already have one. If you have a Livejournal, ClaimID or Vox account, you can just use the address of your homepage there. Or if you have your own website, you can follow Simon Willison’s wonderful tutorial here to connect your site to an identity provider. You don’t need to have a website, of course. Your identity provider can provide you with a link that works just as well.
- Aah! There are so many providers, how do I know which one to choose?
- Which logo do you like better? Honestly, it doesn’t really matter as long as you trust the group behind it. And even then, you are not really commiting to anything. OpenID is decentralized, which means anytime you want to change providers you can do it easily by delegation. Or, if you feel like it, you can even set up your own identity server and use that. There are libraries for a variety of languages available at this site.
- Anything else I should know?
- Just a word of warning. Currently this site associates your OpenID with your comments as a replacement for the “URL” field, which is displayed publically. This is the same as if you usually put your homepage in that field. At some point there will be the ability to opt out of that, but not at this time. Also, I will associate a handle of your choice with your OpenID as a convenience to you. You can change your handle at any time by simply using a different value for the “Name” field on your comments. If you have an issue with either of these practices, you probably should not use your OpenID here yet. An OpenID is not required in order to read or participate, although it does make available features like the comment watchlist, which some people might enjoy.
