Lemme hear a woo. And indeed a hoo.
Blogger in Draft: New feature: Blogger as OpenID provider

That's not only a very good explanation of how OpenID can work, it's also a very momentous step. Probably the biggest blogging platform in existence now allows OpenID for both comments there and for their users to comment elsewhere. Specifically, Blogger users now join Wordpress.com, Typepad, Vox and Livejournal users as owners of an OpenID^[1].

What does this mean? Well, a lot of people get confused or misunderstand the point of OpenID. But the basic rationale, as brad said when he launched it, is that sites that allow you to comment as if you're the owner of a site without proving it are lame. Sites that allow open entry of a URL essentially allow you to claim to be someone else. OpenID means that if someone comments using an OpenID, you know it's them.

Biggest advantage for Livejournallers? If you allow OpenID comments^[2] then your friends that don't have an LJ can both comment here and you know it's them, they can vote in polls, and you can friend them and let them read your protected content. They even get their own friends page and 6 userpics, and can give an email address to get comment notification.

I'm pleased. OpenID has it's faults, but it's undoubtedly one of the most advanced tools in the direction of the distributed web that I've talked (dreamed?) about many times before.

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[1] Facebook only users don't (yet) have an OpenID, but can install the Identitu.de app to get one

[2] Currently requires allowing all anonymous comments, which is crap, they're supposed to have fixed it but haven't yet, I think lobbying our new Russian overlords may be a plan