Now in 100% the right community, a stupid question...

[the_gene_genie]

...but as someone who glazes over at the mere hint of tech-speak, I'm a tad lost. How exactly do I get an openID? Is there a link somewhere on lj that I'm not seeing?  And once I have it, does that mean I post in lj and it automatically x-posts to DW, or vice versa?

It seems like something I need to have to preserve posts/icons once the move has happened, but I'm just being a bit thick and not really getting how I do it.

/bringing the stupid

Comments

[sardonicynic]

Not stupid at all! Dreamwidth makes it easy to claim your OpenID.

The simplest way to do it -- say, for example, for Gene's journal -- is to be logged into his LJ account and his DW account. Visit this page to claim his OpenID by typing in the URL you're claiming; in his case, it would be http://themanclion.livejournal.com.

In about an hour, you'll get a confirmation via e-mail that it worked; Dreamwidth will automatically transfer the icons and username to all the comments you imported, instead of just having the username link with no icon. (Does that make sense? I'm kind of terrible at 'splaining these things.)

[the_gene_genie]

Thank you! But now, another question - he's under a different username over there, though the journal content is the same. Does that make a difference, do you know?

[sardonicynic]

No problem -- I just claimed all mine yesterday, so. :D!

It shouldn't make a difference if he has a different username on Dreamwidth; the claim should transfer with no problem. (Just make sure you're logged into his Dreamwidth account and his LJ account at the same time for best results.)

[the_gene_genie]

Woot, done! Thank you. :)

[sardonicynic]

HIGH-FIVE. <333!

(Dreamwidth says it should take about an hour to update, but I got the e-mail confirmation and saw results for all five of my pup accounts within twenty minutes.)

[ceitfianna]

Quick question. I think I did the right thing and merged all my LJ accounts with my DW and through OpenID as I did the right steps and everything.

I just don't know if it worked and how do I tell if it worked or not? Thanks.

[noteful]

I've just been checking their comments in their imported journal entries.

You should see icons and the DW username in the place of the username.livejournal.com.

[ceitfianna]

Yes, that's what I see. Thank you.

[sardonicynic]

(Whoops, sorry for that lag, Fi — looks like you commented just as I left the office to head for home.)

The easiest way to tell is to check out one of your pup's Dreamwidth journals, and look at the comments in the entries you imported from LJ. If the OpenID claim/transfer worked correctly, you'll see your pup's Dreamwidth username and their corresponding icon instead of just, for example, pi_wakawaka.livejournal.com with no icon in its stead.

[ceitfianna]

Not a problem and yes, it did work.

[sardonicynic]

VICTORY ARMS.

[sleightofhand]

Not stupid at all! You actually already have an OpenID, since LJ is one of the sites that provides is automatically. Basically it's a way of carrying your identity across multiple sites. So if you have an LJ account, you can use it to sign at at certain other places—such as Dreamwidth.

(OpenID's explanation of it is here. "The site you are visiting" is likely in this case Dreamwidth, and "Your ID provider" is likely LJ.)

So first, log in to livejournal.com with the account you want to use.

When you go to Dreamwidth.org, you'll see this in the upper-right corner:



Click on "Log in with OpenID?" You'll be taken to a page that includes this:



Here's me filling it out. Note that you have to include the full url, so make sure the ".livejournal.com" is in there.


You're going to see this:

You'll want to select one of the 'yes' options.

Then you'll be taken back to Dreamwidth, where you'll see something like this:



And that's it! You can use it to comment and, I guess, claim your ID? And all that other important stuff.

[the_gene_genie]

Oh, you rock! Pictures! Thank you!

I always think these things are far more complicated than they really are - but then, I read DW's explanation about twenty times, and it still didn't register. You are amaze. :)

[sleightofhand]

Not a problem! I'm the same, pictures are always better.

In response to your other question, having a different account name shouldn't matter. I hadn't done it with any of my accounts so I'm doing so now.

First, you have to be logged in on LJ and DW on the accounts you want to link. So in my case it's sleightofhand and sleightofhand but in theory it could be sleightofhand on LJ and jacksawesomenewjournal on DW, shouldn't matter.

Go to the Claim Open ID page (it's been linked to a bunch of times in the mod post).

That'll take you to this:


Again, make sure you fill in the full account name, since you're technically claiming an ID instead of a username. So in my case, sleightofhand.livejournal.com

Then it'll take you to a confirmation page, and you get to wait around for an email. I literally just did this so I haven't gotten the email yet, but I assume there will just be a link or something? I suppose we shall see.

[the_gene_genie]

\o/! I've given it a go (...after doing it once while not logged in over there, natch >_>), so yep, just waiting for the email now too. I definitely hope it'll be as easy as clicking a link. :)

[the_gene_genie]

I can confirm they provide a link. \o/. All done, thanks for your help. :)

[lady_bols]

Nothing useful to add save to say, I adore that icon.

[the_gene_genie]

*pinches the adorable squishy!face* Me too!

I was just thinking of emailing you, mate. Is the comm being brought over?

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Here's random stupid. Why do OpenID? I know it lets you access DW through other accounts... but is it so you don't have to make another account and import it? I don't really know.

[the_gene_genie]

I think it's so all icons/posts are preserved with the tags they originally had in the LJ comm. It's in the mod post, anyway.

[sophistry]

It's so that all your imported comments/entries show up under your current DW username (instead of yourljusername.livejournal.com), and with the right icons.