Singpolyma

I have updated two of my DiSo plugins: Profile and ActionStream.

The profile updates mostly involve some code cleanup, a page here documenting it, and a new API to add permissions options to the permissions page.

The ActionStream update is a bit more extensive:

• Support for coComment
• Code cleanup, of course
• RSS2 output option, linked from the stream output (add &full for a different view)
• Reportedly working in WP2.5 with a patch I accepted
• Better Safari support
• If you disable showing your service usernames they are also hidden in the collapsed items
• Abitily to set permissions on updates from each service (if wp-diso-profile0.25 is installed)

© 2006-2008 Stephen Paul Weber. Some Rights Reserved.

I'm publishing two plugins today.  The first is pretty simple in what it can do for users directly - the XRDS-Simple plugin allows users to delegate their OpenID to their Wordpress blog - basically letting you log in on OpenID enabled sites using your blog address, but without needing to run your own provider.

On a far geekier level, the plugin allows other plugins to add XRDS-Simple services and other information (such as OAuth Discovery) using a progammatic API.  A brief example of this API is on the plugin's page.

I am also releasing a more DiSo related plugin - WP-OAuth.  This plugin enables interacting with Wordpress authentication using the open OAuth protocol.  This could be exciting if combined with AtomPub or another protocol / format supported by Wordpress or another plugin.

© 2006-2008 Stephen Paul Weber. Some Rights Reserved.

Take 2! Now enhanced with XRDSs! Eran has blogged about the changes and the initial vendor support.  This plays right into my dream of infinite interop.  I'm quite happy about how small the spec is now that it just rides on XRDSs.  There's some weirdness (need two XRDs, can have one XRDSs reference another).  Eran has explained his reasoning to me and it makes sense, but I'm still not convinced that it's necessary.

Anyway, I should roll out a new XRDSs and OAuth DiSo plugin soon with support for draft 2.  And new examples.  There is an alternate PHP class that Eran says will be including support. I will probably use that when it comes out, but I'll bootstrap with JanRain Yadis and the standard OAuth PHP class for now.

© 2006-2008 Stephen Paul Weber. Some Rights Reserved.

I have re-written and re-launched AWriterz - my service for hosting creative works.  Basically, I took my Web 1.0 service and brought it to the new web.  Logins are now powered by OpenID and it tries to get some data automatically through SREG, SGAPI, and hCard.  There is a karma-like system to prevent spam (and eventually reward active users), and users can tag and rate every work (and upload there own).  I'm trying to emphasize CreativeCommons on the site, but I'm not enforcing it.

I'm really hoping to build more DiSo-like functionality in as the site progresses and I get more user feedback

© 2006-2008 Stephen Paul Weber. Some Rights Reserved.

Eran finally released the XRDS-Simple Draft 1 spec. Chris Messina has some great thoughts about how this fits into DiSo, and Eran has done some good explanations himself.  I'm just going to give some of my own thoughts.

First off, forget whatever you think about related standards, like XRDS or XRI. If you dislike OASIS, can it. I'm sick of the fighting and just want the web to *work*.

I'd like to talk a bit about my vision of infinite interoperability, which is facilitated somewhat by XRDSs. Little to none of this is implemented today.  I'm not expressing a pragmatic "let's build this now" but a hope for what I would love to build in time.  I'm going to use brands familiar to me - if you hate them, pretend I used different brands.

Imagine this: Flickr is an OpenID consumer with OAuth as its authentication standard on all APIs.  They have moved all their content listing, posting, and editing features over to APP (yes, APP supports binary data, like images).  They are using XRDSs for discovery of the endpoints to *all* APIs.

I write a website.  This website lets you easily create collages of images from free sources for use in projects (I dunno, pick a more useful project idea).  You log in with your OpenID and create a collage.  You can print it out and embed it on your site, but you want to share with friends.  You click a 'share' button and are taken to flickr where OAuth authenticates you (maybe using shortcuts since we know your OpenID already) and posts the image to your account using APP.  It knows where all the endpoints are because of XRDSs.

How is this different than what can be done with the Flickr API today? Just wait.

Your friend sees your collage and wants to make their own.  They also come to my site.  They also click share.  They do not use Flickr, but rather Zooomr, for their images.  Zooomr is also OpenID+OAuth+APP+XRDSs enabled.

My site *does not* have to know about Zooomr.  You can simply entry into a settings box "zooomr.com" and my site with *automatically* (XRDSs) find the endpoints to authenticate (OAuth) and post (APP) and your friend can share their image.  I support four standards and get access to *every* photo sharing solution, without even knowing they exist or having to care.

© 2006-2008 Stephen Paul Weber. Some Rights Reserved.