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I suspect one strong reason against is because it would require you to be near your email client, or to use a webmail service for all online logins. Currently t

I suspect one strong reason against is because it would require you to be near your email client, or to use a webmail service for all online logins. Currently that requirement applies only when you register or forget your password. If your address is a company one, without web access, you won't be able to access any of your online resources. What about the browser automating the procedure to openid?

pyre 17y ago
He's saying the browser would automate the process. Presumably it would speak POP/IMAP and poll your INBOX. Some immediate technical issues here: 1. If you're not using a service with super fast SMTP processing (i.e. Google) your email might not show up immediately. This would delay the login process while you're waiting for the email to arrive. 2. What happens when the email is dropped? (due to some stupid spam IP/Domain blacklist at the server-level) 3. What happens when the email ends up in your spam folder? 4. In relation to point #1, what happens when your email provider has an outage? You can't log into any other websites? This seems counter to the idea that the internet routes around problems. Your email account becomes a single point of failure. [I know that it's already a single point of failure from a security standpoint with password reset emails, but if my email server goes down, I can still login to sites as long as I remember my password]
- richardw 17y ago
  1) Sure, but the browser has to know your password for pop, etc, or you have to type it in, saving nothing. If it does know, then you're stuck at your own browser or you have to teach some new browser where your mail server is, and put in a password. I was saying any automation benefit for email would also help openid (for example) because it's already browser-based. If you can automate POP, you can automate openid.

pyre 17y ago

He's saying the browser would automate the process. Presumably it would speak POP/IMAP and poll your INBOX. Some immediate technical issues here: 1. If you're not using a service with super fast SMTP processing (i.e. Google) your email might not show up immediately. This would delay the login process while you're waiting for the email to arrive. 2. What happens when the email is dropped? (due to some stupid spam IP/Domain blacklist at the server-level) 3. What happens when the email ends up in your spam folder? 4. In relation to point #1, what happens when your email provider has an outage? You can't log into any other websites? This seems counter to the idea that the internet routes around problems. Your email account becomes a single point of failure. [I know that it's already a single point of failure from a security standpoint with password reset emails, but if my email server goes down, I can still login to sites as long as I remember my password]

richardw 17y ago
1) Sure, but the browser has to know your password for pop, etc, or you have to type it in, saving nothing. If it does know, then you're stuck at your own browser or you have to teach some new browser where your mail server is, and put in a password. I was saying any automation benefit for email would also help openid (for example) because it's already browser-based. If you can automate POP, you can automate openid.