identity as a URL instead of an email? hrmmmm

[Harry Heymann]

Hi,

I've known about openID since the first day brad talked about it
publically on LJ.  I've followed this list off and on, and it remains
something that I'm quite curious about as it's obvious to me (and
anyone else paying attention) that the web needs an identity system. 
Yadis/OpenID has the distinct advantage of already having a couple
million potential users in the form of SixApart customers of various
flavors.

But my big overrising question that I've never seen adequately answered is this:

Users have been trained very well over the past N years to connect
their identity to an e-mail address.  They understand this.  They know
what it means.  They might have a blog/webpage/whatever, but it's not
their identity.  I *am* harryh at dodgeball.com.  I *have* a blog
harryh.livejournal.com but it is not me.

Hell, millions of people out there don't even have webpages yet, and
aren't likely to ever get them.

So why make my identity a URL?  I know there are technical reasons for
this, but ultimately I don't really care about them in the face of the
kind of user confusion this will create.

-harryh