OpenID for Dummies

Revision as of 20:52, 1 October 2008

There's a symptom of those being introduced to microformats and OpenID; They tend to go cross-eyed in confusion. If you're new to OpenID, you might hear the jargon, most of it starting with the letter "O," and think it's some kind of ancient Gaelic language strung together by a bunch of English conjunctions.

It's not your fault. OpenID is mostly invisible, or behind the scenes. Despite the fact many of you probably already have an OpenID account, you might not have had the chance to use it.

But you should be interested in it because it solves one of the web's most fundamental problems: too many accounts. One for each service! OpenID combines them all into one.

This article is a wiki. If you know how to solve the web's identity crisis, give this article an edit.

What is it?

Imagine a web where you never have to log in again.

Oh sure, we've had browsers attempting to solve the problem by remembering passwords. Keychains to collect all your passwords in one place. There's a better way now. A way without having to write down passwords and without having to change them every few months.

OpenID uses a URL as your identity. The URL defines you. Whenever a site needs to authenticate you are who you say you are, it goes to the URL for that information. Instead of a login and password, you get one button that effectively says "Let me in."

How Do I Get an OpenID?

You may already have one. If you have an account with any of the following OpenID providers, you have an OpenID.

• AOL
• Blogger
• Flickr
• LiveDoor
• LiveJournal
• Orange (France Telecom)
• SmugMug
• Technorati
• Vox
• Yahoo
• WordPress.com

This list was provided by openid.net.

If you don't have an account with any of these services, or if want to start up a new identity you can use MyOpenID.com, which offers up free OpenID URLs.

Soon enough, you'll be able to use your existing MySpace account as an OpenID provider. Yes, it means http://www.myspace.com/yournamehere can be your OpenID identity.

Okay, So Now How Do I Use It?

Look for the OpenID icon below:

Every time you see that icon, you should click on it or the link next to it. Enter in your OpenID URL. No email, no password, no telephone number necessary.

Next you'll be directed to your website to give authorization to whatever site you want to access.

Your OpenID domain should be behind the only login you should ever need (that is, if OpenID takes off). Typically, you'll already be signed in thanks to a checkbox you can click that says "remember me." You probably already know the kind.

Your next step will be to whitelist the site you want to access. This is stored on a file that keeps track of the sites you authorize. Usually, you can grant access to a site once, forever or cancel out of the login process altogether.

This whole process of authorization is a piece of the OpenID stack called OAuth. The place where you store the file is usually referred to as your data host. File the jargon in the back of your head somewhere in case you ever come across it.

Finally, you'll be directed back to the site you came from. Only this time, you'll be logged in. Usually the whole process takes about 30 seconds and requires two mouse clicks.

Try it Out

Try leaving a comment on any site in the [www.blogger.com blogspot.com] domain. The blog host supports OpenID for comments and hosts OpenID urls if you want to start your identity there.

If you don't like Blogger, you might also want to try leaving a comment on any blog with Intense Debate installed (another commenting platform).

How Do I Host My Own OpenID

If you're a privacy nut, you don't like the idea of depending on other sites to provide your identity. There's good reason to be concerned; if your identity site is down, you won't be able to "log in" to any site.

Luckily, now you (hopefully) have a better understanding of the concepts behind OpenID, you can head over to our Be Your Own OpenID Provider tutorial. You'll need a web host and some knowledge of HTML and PHP to do it.

How Do I Use a Vanity Domain?

If you just want the domain you bought to be your OpenID for geek cred, Blogger abides.

1. Start up a blog on Blogger. Don't worry, you don't have to update it, or (gasp) write anything to it. We're just going to use it for the OpenID providing.
2. After creating an account (or using your Google/Gmail account) you'll be asked to name your blog. Follow the steps, name your blog whatever you want (it's temporary).
3. Once you come to a blank editing screen, click on Settings
4. Click on the Publishing sub-tab. You'll see a Custom Domains link. Click on it.
5. You'll be directed to a screen where you can buy a domain through Google, or click Advanced Settings if you already own a domain.
6. Enter your domain in the settings and submit. You might want to use a subdomain if you're hosting something already. For example: openid.yourdomain.com
7. Wait, you're not quite done yet. You'll have to set up a CNAME redirect to Google through your domain host. Find your domain host and follow the directions in Google's custom domain help page.

I'm a Developer, Why Should My Site Accept OpenIDs?

The easiest answer is because you don't have to worry about dealing with accounts anymore. You only have to mess with the authentication of the identity. It will be a huge relief to administrators and customer service departments.

Furthermore, it removes a barrier to entry. You've had the thought before when dipping your foot in the waters of yet another internet startup. "Why should I start up yet another account on a service I may never use?"

Suggested readings

Webmonkey is a big proponent of open standards. OpenID is just one open standard we've written about before.

• How to Make Your Own Domain an OpenID from the monkey_bites blog
• Set Up a Home Server
• Be Your Own OpenID Provider