Talk:Marketing

From OpenID2009

=Shade: There's an old saying that goes "Keep it simple, stupid." But in this case I think keeping it simple may leave us vulnerable to undeserved criticisms, because it's very easy to say something simple that is also stupid, and addressing these simply formed criticisms in like manner may give us the appearance of being stupid. We should be willing to delve into the technical details of how OpenID works, to address complaints whether they have merit or not. Highly technical explanations can be optional, yes, or hidden behind a link saying "The technical stuff is here." ;), but I think it's important for several reasons to have the technical stuff at least available here, even if most readers won't understand or care. First there's the appearance of someone saying "OpenID is broken." and us saying "No it's not!" (or other arguments that equal one another in simplicity), which seems like we aren't capable of any further rationale for our views: saying "Well just read the source code and/or specs yourself." or that the engineers understand it (and how are readers to decide whether they trust "our" engineers or the ones who disagree?) makes OpenID about as comprehensible to the layperson as heavy crypto is; and maybe it won't be that incomprehensible, but if that's what they read at the 2009 wiki¹, they probably should think as much since that's what we would be telling them! Another reason is that, if the reader happens to know someone whose skill in understanding such things is greater than their own, having the information right here will improve convenience; and isn't it in the best interests of all parties involved if they not only pursue learning more about OpenID, but the people they ask have good information immediately accessible?
¹ Snorri let me know that this wiki is for the community/Board, not companies or end users, so that part about them reading this wiki probably doesn't apply. I think the reasoning still holds merit, though, so I'll leave it in place.