thayes0993's blog

Programmable Web has added the AOL OpenAuth API to their directory, giving it 5-star rating, and making it their Featured API.

The AOL Open Authentication API empowers third-party web sites and applications to authenticate AOL and AIM users through their Web Sites/Applications and seamlessly access AOL services or new services built on top of AOL services.

Try it today!

According to a recent post (Drupal 6 gets OpenID support!) on the Drupal web site, Drupal 6 core will support the (soon to be finalized) OpenID 2.0 Protocol.

One of the comments to this post expressed concern that there are not enough sites that support OpenID, either as providers or as consumers to make the protocol useful. However James Walker, who implemented this new module in Drupal, replied that "...lots of people already have OpenID" including "All AOL instant messenger users". The AOL OpenAuth services has implemented the OP (OpenID Provider) side of the OpenID protocol for several months now.

On June 5, I represented AOL at a meeting to review the current draft of an OpenID IPR Policy. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are of concern to anyone implementing or using the OpenID protocol, since the threat of legal action may prevent widespread deployment, which is critical for success. The need for an IPR Policy is particularly clear for larger companies who may wish to participate, since they may be a more likely target for patent infringement actions. These same companies may also hold a significant portion of the IP