Does using only OpenId for your login on your site help thwart spam bots?

Question

I have a website that requires users to register to post content to the site (news, articles, messages, etc). If I were to use OpenId instead of my own registration/login system, would that help keep spam bots away?

Answer 1

It depends on the quality of your home grown registration system vs. the quality of ANY openid provider you allow.

In other words: if your user registration requires email verification & captcha, but if some of the openid providers dont; the answer is no. Meaning, if your registration system uses all the typical spam bot protection of email, captcha, javascript checks, etc, you are better off just using your own as far as thwarting spam bots goes.

That said, most of the openid providers are pretty good at user verification (from my experience).

In considering using openid, the motivation should be more towards making it easier for users to enroll and use your system, and less towards spam bot protection.