!!! Overview
[{$pagename}] is an open standard from the [OpenID Foundation] that allows users to be authenticated by certain co-operating sites (known as [Relying Parties|Relying Party] or [RP]) using a third party service, eliminating the need for web-masters to provide their own ad hoc systems and allowing users to consolidate their digital identities.

Users may create accounts with their preferred [OpenID] identity providers, and then use those accounts as the basis for signing on to any website which accepts OpenID authentication. 

The [OpenID] standard provides a framework for the communication that must take place between the identity provider ([IDP]) and the [OpenID] acceptor [Relying Party]. 

An extension to the standard (the OpenID Attribute Exchange) facilitates the transfer of user [attributes], such as name and gender, from the [OpenID] [Identity Provider (IDP)] to the relying party (each relying party may request a different set of attributes, depending on its requirements).

The [OpenID] [protocol] does not rely on a central authority to authenticate a user's [Digital Identity]. Moreover, neither services nor the OpenID standard may mandate a specific means by which to authenticate users, allowing for approaches ranging from the common (such as [passwords]) to the novel (such as [Smart Cards] or [biometrics]).

The term [OpenID] may also refer to an identifier as specified in the [OpenID] standard; these identifiers take the form of a unique [URI], and are managed by some 'OpenID provider' that handles [authentication].

!! [OpenID Connect] 
[OpenID Connect] is a newer version of [OpenID] and was finalized and published in February [2014|Year 2014]

!! Other information
[OpenID Foundation|http://openid.net/|target='_blank']

[OpenID Test Site|http://openidenabled.com/resources/openid-test/checkup/|target='_blank']


!!![Test Site for OpenID|http://openidenabled.com/resources/openid-test/diagnose-server/]

!!! OpenID Providers
A better place to find [Public OpenID providers|http://wiki.openid.net/OpenIDServers]

!!AOL
All AOL users have an OpenID with a URL of:
{{{
http://openid.aol.com/screenanme
}}}

!! [MyOpenID|https://www.myopenid.com/]


!! More Information
There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:
[{ReferringPagesPlugin before='*' after='\n' }]

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* [#1] - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenID] - Retrieved 2013-03-29