OpenID

OpenID is a decentralized authentication system. Here's a quick-and-dirty explanation of how it works: some website serves as your identity provider. This can be any site with an OpenID server set up (you can see a list of such sites here). The identity provider is usually one you're logged in to all the time. When you log in to some other website using your OpenID identity URL (which is like an OpenID username), your browser will be redirected to your OpenID provider to authenticate you. Since you're logged in to your identity provider, the provider can ensure that you are, in fact, you, and redirects your browser back to the original website with a yes/no response. There's a whole lot of security stuff built-in that ensures it's a secure process; for full details feel free to go check out the OpenID website.

stakface.com supports an OpenID-based account system. If you wish to create an account on stakface.com, simply enter your OpenID identity URL into the login box in the navigation bar on the left. If this is the first time you have entered your OpenID identity URL, a stakface.com account will be automagically created and you will be logged in. If you are a returning visitor, you will be logged in to the account you created previously. It's that simple.

What can you do with an account? Having an account removes the requirement to pass human-verification filters (the CAPTCHA images) before posting comments or sending me messages via the contact form. You can also specify a default handle and timezone that will be used when you post comments or view anything on the website with a timestamp. And finally, I might choose to grant you access to protected blog entries, which are not viewable by the general public; I can only do this if you create an account.