How can I convert existing users into a OpenID

Question

Would this be a smart thing to do? I don't want to alienate my users, but having multiple ways to sign in to the site kind of defeats the purpose of having an OpenID implementation. This isn't a brand new site and has about 3k users which are somewhat diehards (we have a great community), but not all of them are and I don't want to lose anyone due to a sign in process.

Is there a simple way to convert the existing accounts into OpenId? or am I going to have to create some kind of "associate with old account".

Answer 1

To create OpenId's for each user you would need to offer your own identity provider service to have control over these users. And that might require more work than having two authentication ways. I suggest you offer both ways, it's how most sites handle this issue.

Answer 2

The advantage of OpenID is that it allows people to use their existing identity at your site. I don't think having two ways to sign in defeats this purpose, since users without an existing identity will find openID inconvenient.

Answer 3

Look at the way UserVoice (used by SO) handles both legacy and OpenID login. They coexist in a straight forward way.