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OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

teddziuba.com

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Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#31

Post by kajecounterhack »

wayne wrote: post #3

I had the same beef when I was getting into Stack Overflow. OpenID just complicates the signup process with little tangible benefit, solving a problem few users actually have. UI-wise, it feels little better than Microsoft requiring a Passport account only OpenID is even more complicated since you have many different providers to choose from. Maybe it'll be awesome in 5 years when users all understand what OpenID is…

I don't see why it will ever be "awesome." Any system that lets you use the same password/username for every site is a recipe for disaster, I think. Well the key problems I see with this whole getup is

1) Phishing? 10x Easier if everyone used Open ID. Masquerade as a provider, phish happy.

2) If someone has their password stolen...there goes every account they have. Albeit, without open id, this is sadly often the case anyway. (Not for me, but for most people.)

3) How hard is it, really, to register for a freaking website? Name, address, mailinator email. Done, no hassle.

IF Open ID is to be useful, it has to be able to log people in with extreme ease, otherwise the time-saved benefit of not entering these reg forms will be eradicated by the complexity of the system itself. And obviously...openid is NOT extremely easy. In fact, its quite the opposite. Even for a power user...unless you're signing up for many many many many accounts, its not helpful.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#32

Post by maxklein »

I agree completely. OpenID is utterly flawed. If ever OpenID in its current form gains acceptance, I will eat my hat. And put the video of me eating it on YouTube.

OpenID is just a weak idea that needs a LOT and LOT of pushing to make it accepted. Look at the iPhone - nobody pushes you to use it, you see it, like it and use it.

With OpenID people have to be forced to use it, because it's cumbersome and does not offer any clear advantage.

Like I've said earlier, the real auth solution is the one where you simply stick your USB stick into a machine, type a 4 letter pin and everything on that machine is authenticated till you take it out.

A weak concept pushed by technologists and people who want to give talks and earn money off this technology.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#33

Post by compay »

I spent most of yesterday implementing openid on a site I'm developing.

The problem is not the underlying mechanism but rather the way it's been presented on most sites. Remembering an openid url is counterintuitive for most people - you have to explain too much to all but the most technical users in order for them to know what's going on.

But now there has been some progress: Yahoo became an openid provider a while back, and they allow you to log in with their openid by simply entering "Yahoo.com," you don't even have to remember your openid URL.

I also used JanRain's ID Selector Javascript widget to make the signup form a little more intuitive:

http://www.idselector.com/

So really I think openid is getting much better as it matures and its developer community tweaks it and the tools around it. If Google and Microsoft fully get on board (which they are promising) I think it will see pretty widespread adoption.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#34

Post by mechanical_fish »

kajecounterhack wrote: post #31
wayne wrote: post #3

I had the same beef when I was getting into Stack Overflow. OpenID just complicates the signup process with little tangible benefit, solving a problem few users actually have. UI-wise, it feels little better than Microsoft requiring a Passport account only OpenID is even more complicated since you have many different providers to choose from. Maybe it'll be awesome in 5 years when users all understand what OpenID is…

I don't see why it will ever be "awesome." Any system that lets you use the same password/username for every site is a recipe for disaster, I think. Well the key problems I see with this whole getup is 1) Phishing? 10x Easier if everyone used Open ID. Masquerade as a provider, phish happy. 2) If someone has their password stolen...there goes every account they have . Albeit, without open id, this is sadly often the c…

I don't see why it will ever be "awesome."

That's the translation of "maybe it will be awesome in five years". In web terms, five years is practically as far away as the heat death of the universe.

When we're trying to be polite, we geeks adopt the legendary phrasing techniques of the Japanese: We almost never use the word no. Instead we say "it's really quite difficult".

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#35

Post by mechanical_fish »

sutro wrote: post #11

OpenID and enterprise Single Sign-On counterparts like SiteMinder are trying to solve a problem that browser-based credential vaults have rendered largely obsolete.

Yep. I've said the same thing before: 1password for the Mac. You pay $35, once, and suddenly every site on the web supports auto-filling of gigantic automatically-generated strong passwords. You can stash your non-Web passwords in its lockbox, too.

There are occasional glitches and annoyances (my pet peeve is that so many of the sites in the world don't actually support long passwords containing symbols). But you can fix the problems, because it's pretty obvious what 1password is doing and the whole thing is right there on your machine.

I'm sure there are similar programs for Windows, though I can't recommend one.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#36

Post by alex_ndc »

I wouldn't mind using OpenID if it actually worked. When I try to login to stackoverflow, it sometimes gives me the following error message ...

"Unable to login with your OpenID provider: The remote name could not be resolved: 'blog.lexoft.eu'"

And after some time it starts working again. I suspect this is a DNS problem, but using OpenID means a dependence on an external system over which you have no control.

So I like the concept, but a site like StackOverflow should give the option of using normal user accounts as a fallback.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#37

Post by alex_ndc »

brianr wrote: post #24
jrockway wrote: post #21

Every time I see an OpenID site, I just type " http://jrock.us " and am instantly signed up. No username and password selection, no waiting for the retarded e-mail confirmation e-mail... I am instantly registered for any site by just typing a few letters. I am really unsure why people dislike OpenID. As a website user, my time is saved. As a website developer, my time is saved. I suppose if you never intend to use mo…

People aren't as dumb as you expect. You're right--they are about 10 times dumber. Have you been on Facebook or MySpace, or read YouTube comments lately?

There's more than meets the eye in such cases.

I actually think that most people are not dumb ... they just behave that way because it makes them look cool, or because they lived in a cave all their lives and don't know any better.

Instead of being arrogant, treat them the same as you would a smart and educated individual, and I think you will have quite a few surprises.

In fact I rarely meet dumb people, and I'm not living in Silicon Valey, but in a third world country with a corrupted government, and a shameful school system.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#38

Post by thorax »

christefano wrote: post #10

Like Tedd Ziuba, I also didn't have an OpenID when joining Stack Overflow. Instead of becoming annoyed with OpenID (which, admittedly, I am), I became annoyed with Stack Overflow for requiring one. What I did was register my own domain (callna.me) and install Drupal 6 with the OpenID Provider module. Instant OpenID. Anyway, his post makes him sound like an idiot. It's a good thing comments are turned off on his post.

Well, I see it differently. I think some sites need to require it so that we can discuss how much we dislike that.

Better an early-adopter developer forum than GMail.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#39

Post by thorax »

aston wrote: post #9
unalone wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find that unlike most bloggers, Ted actually is pretty smart about what users like and don't like. OpenID is cluttered. It takes longer to use it than it does to just reregister every single time. Even Clickpass doesn't speed things up. It's hailed as brilliant because it's open, but it's poorly implemented to a fault. I argued in another thread that Facebook Connect was the technology to bet on. It's closed, but i…

Just curious, what's poorly implemented about Clickpass?

I think when he said "It's hailed as brilliant because it's open, but it's poorly implemented to a fault" he was talking about OpenID, not Clickpass specifically.

Re: OpenID Is Why I Hate The Internet

#40

Post by shadytrees »

You can pry OpenID from my dead body. It moves user account controls back to the user. Want to delete an account? Delete access to the website rather than, usually, having to email the administrator. Want to only log in once to see what the website looks like? Click "Allow Once" instead of "Allow Forever."
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