OpenID

[rhythmaning]

I was just browsing a friend's blog, and he has OpenID set up as one of the options to leave details when commenting.

I remember people in my f-list talking about OpenID a while back, but it washed over me; this time I decided to investigate.

However, the website doesn't really tell my WHY I would want OpenID - and I can't really work it out. Aside from saving me keying my details in when logging into various sites, what do I gain? Let's face it, I'm not that lazy - and most of the sites I use remember my details - so why do I want - or need - OpenID?

Also, the OpenID website says that if I have an LJ username, or a flickr username, or one of many others, too, I already have an OpenID. So I tried my LJ username in the OpenID login space on my friend's comment box: and it didn't recognise me... So how do I actually use it?

Incidentally, my LJ username and my flickr (=Yahoo!) username are different, because when I registered with flickr, my name had already gone. Of course, this might be why OpenID didn't work...

http://openid.net/get/

Comments

[frumiousb.livejournal.com]

when you typed in your comment and entered your lj user name, did you select livejournal from the pull-down list that should have been provided? If you did not, it would not recognize you. If you did, it should work automatically.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

ah - no pull down list, as far as I recall!

Maybe it was the website and not me, then.

[frumiousb.livejournal.com]

It may not have been obvious. It took me several times to figure it out.

Here's an example that I know works. "Dead Baby Jokes" is one of my favorite non-LJ blogs, and she allows open ID comments.

Go here for an entry:

http://deadbabyjokes.blogspot.com/2008/06/cross-my-palm-with-silver.html

If you click on "Post a Comment" and select "Open ID", you get a place to enter your name. Above it, there should be a dropdown list. If you select LiveJournal, it tells you what format to enter your id.

[liadnan]

One of the advantages is that anyone reading your comment on, say, a blogspot blog, will have a link straight back to your own home on livejournal.

You can't use it just as the livejournal username (ie "rhythmaning") when you are using that as an openid. You need to enter as the openid "rhythmaning.livejournal.com" (without the quotes) so the site knows who your openid provider is. When you hit enter you'll briefly be sent to livejournal to verify that you are indeed you: the point is that your own openid provider, in this case lj, does the verifying rather than the site on which you are posting. It's all fairly seamless and automagic.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

Ah, ok. Thank you.

Good trip?

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[liadnan]

Splendid. Knackered now though.

[matgb]

And in addition they know it's someone logged into LJ as you, so either it is you or someone has nicked your password.

A number of blogs get 'fake' comments with people putting in name/url for blogs that aren't theirs. I like it as it stops sock puppetting and for the blog owner can reduce spam (I tend to require registration or an OpenID login on sites I set up as it saves on dodgy comments from idiots).

You'll also sometimes get problems because LJ was one of the first sites to be an OpenID provider and is using OpenID1, a lot of sites, especially Yahoo, use OpenID2, so Yahoo users can't log in to LJ all the time, which is annoying.

Another advantage is if your friend logs in here using their OpenID, you can add them to let them read protected entries, which a few of my friends have done.

[matbowles.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

Just as a demonstration