An OpenID is a URL. Hey, that’s not really news, is it? Well, usually we expect to find some information when typing a URL into the location bar of our browser. So what information is located at OpenID endpoints? OpenID endpoints are simply our OpenIDs. Here are a few examples:
ClaimID
myOpenID.com
myVidoop
Sxipper
TypeKey
VeriSign PIP
Ideas for Endpoints
As can be seen those endpoints are quite different, though the majority doesn’t provide any real information. Actually endpoints like the ClaimID, myVidoop, and VeriSign PIP ones can be found rather often. The most information is revealed by the MyOpenID.com endpoint. It is a real profile which is marked up with hCard, MicroID, and Pavatar. Users can change that, though. Sxipper’s endpoint is also marked up with hCard, while the TypeKey one is providing just some basic information (I should change the image, though 
).
Update Jan 21: myVidoop’s endpoints can be profiles, too (see comments). Missed that.
It is always a question of privacy if users want to reveal (much) information about themselves. This also applies to OpenID endpoints, of course. So privacy advocates probably prefer the simple ones by providers like ClaimID. Though shouldn’t users have the choice of what is revealed about them? MyOpenID.com offers some options.
I could imagine other information at endpoints as well. What about RSS feeds – bookmarks, photos, playlists, blog posts -, offering users to write some public notes there? Or a poem? It could be some more general, not user related information, too, like a screencast about OpenID or even just information about the provider. I guess you can think of even more options. Those endpoints just shouldn’t be some wasted space, though.
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Sam Alexander
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Carsten Pötter
