[LINK] RFI: OpenID

[Roger Clarke]

Can anyone point to an accessible description of OpenID?

Like a lot of open source, the sites and the documentation are very 
much by-geeks/for-geeks.

I suspect that it's just a latter-day MS Passport, but with:
-   open specs
-   more adopters (among corporations, if not among people)
-   the scope for stronger linkage between the id and the entity
-   the intention that each person have only one id

In short, it seems to be just supply-side federated identity management:
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/EC/IdMngt-0804.html#RTFToC14
Exhibit 5D: 'Federated Identity Management'
(or Interoperable Multi-Supplier Multi-Organisation Single-SignOn)

But I'd welcome any leads to a description or analysis somewhere 
between the sales blarney at:  http://www.openid.org/
and the highly segmented and detailed (and of course necessary) 
tech-speak at:  http://openid.net/developers/specs/

Thanks!

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW