There was a discussion on Bluesky on #ATproto login UX norms+strategy that was hard to follow.

At the same time, @leaflet.pub added a killer Bluesky thread viewer feature to Leaflet!

Bluesky thread viewer - Leaflet Lab Notes
Lab Notes 019: a new thread viewer for Bluesky posts, both as embeds within posts, and in the quotes / mentions section!
https://lab.leaflet.pub/3mabsropbo22q

So I'm dumping links to threads here so I can read them somewhat coherently and extract some notes for other things. They're in chronological order based (mostly) on the parent post for each thread. A few mid-thread highlights may have been pulled out. All this presented without annotation or commentary.

Leaflet is becoming quite the swiss army knife for making sense of things. If this curation without commentary is helpful, I'd love to hear it!


This is the sign up options for the Atuin Desktop "hub" accounts signup, with Github and Google as the two external login options. And a dev centric product @atuin.sh might even be up for it! Getting "Sign up with ATproto" on there with consistent branding and flows is somewhere we CAN get to.

Screenshot of the Sign In page on the Atuin Hub https://hub.atuin.sh/login

Username

Password

(big sign in button)

Or sign in with a third-party provider: and then buttons for Sign in with Github, and Sign in with Google.

Demo: atproto login flow for @pckt.blog using an account with an external PDS and syncing a blog post to that PDS. Thanks to @rude1.blacksky.team @blackskyweb.xyz for making it so easy to set up an atproto account hosted outside of bluesky so I could test this.

Kipclip 🐔's avatar
Kipclip 🐔
@kipclip.com

Inspired by the work from @nickthesick.com for @bookhive.buzz who was in turn inspired by @jakelazaroff.com Kipclip now also has the cool handle autocomplete feature on the login page that all the cool atproto kids have! Happy url collecting ❤️

a screenshot of the kipclip login page showing the autocomplete when you start typing your handle.

Thinking along the same lines. Seems like there's a related opportunity for people like Identity.com and/or OpenID.net to step in and host a "Log in with" button and atproto compatible auth layer in between identity registries and personal data server providers.

one annoying thing about "log in with atproto" is that it's not a single button press because you have to enter the handle. whereas with google account it's just a button press and then another button press to choose the account i'm logging into. is there a solution to this?

once "Login with ATProto" becomes normal, it's downhill from there We have a long way to go, though

Ronen Tamari's avatar
Ronen Tamari
@ronentk.me
Next time someone asks you "what is the atproto killer app?" show them this meme.
There is no killer app, there is a killer ecosystem
Post image
Eli Mallon's avatar
Eli Mallon
@iame.li

No yeah I agree, "type your handle" is exactly the kind of thing where the nerds will be like "what, it's easy!" and then 25% of people just lose interest when they don't remember their handle instantly Shame to entrench Bluesky tho. One way to make it faster would be something like Discord login

discord login page. username + password + qr code

This would make for an interesting front end only ATProto project - make a standalone account creation interface. Might actually pair nicely with - @danabra.mov’s internethandle.org - Blacksky, NorthSky, EuroSky options - choice of domain name - additional app explorer / new account checklist

Eli Mallon's avatar
Eli Mallon
@iame.li
Is there a decent non-Bluesky account creation frontend out there? I've got some people that want to join atproto but not Bluesky and telling them to go through the Bluesky flow but then enter `selfhosted.social` or whatever is confusing

if a specific atproto app gains enough traction independently, it could just have a login without explicitly referencing a protocol or bluesky at the top level

̶L̶o̶g̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶B̶l̶u̶e̶s̶k̶y̶ ̶L̶o̶g̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶A̶T̶P̶r̶o̶t̶o̶ ̶L̶o̶g̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶r̶n̶e̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶l̶e̶ ̶ Login with your DID* (* did:plc or did:web supported)

Tom Sherman's avatar
Tom Sherman
@tom.sherman.is

Thoughts on this atproto login UI? Play with it on the link below but you need a Vercel account so i attached some screenshots too frontpage-git-rework-login-form-frontpagefyi.vercel.app/login?_vercel_sh…

Login UILogin with PDS modalLogin UI with help articles expanded

IDK about "internet handle." The internet means something to people and what it means is something bigger than AT Protocol. Why not #atproto handle? That's what it is, isn't it?

a man with a beard says you 're scared
Nick Gerakines's avatar
Nick Gerakines
@ngerakines.me

My thoughts on "Sign in with your internet handle" as a call-to-action for authentication, and my guidance and best practices for handling authentication inputs. #ATProtocol #Authentcation ngerakines.leaflet.pub/3ma7hed2kdk2x

Eli Mallon's avatar
Eli Mallon
@iame.li

I like Nick’s take here but I think the single best thing we could do would just be visually consistent across all the major atproto apps Atproto Login Form Working Group (ALFWG), anyone? Getting us all to actually reach consensus and ship something together would make us unstoppable

Nick Gerakines's avatar
Nick Gerakines
@ngerakines.me
My thoughts on "Sign in with your internet handle" as a call-to-action for authentication, and my guidance and best practices for handling authentication inputs. #ATProtocol #Authentcation

ngerakines.leaflet.pub/3ma7hed2kdk2x
Sign In With Your Internet Handle - Nick's Blog

Sign In With Your Internet Handle - Nick's Blog


https://ngerakines.leaflet.pub/3ma7hed2kdk2x

I don’t think it’s about someone else saving us, it’s about us being strategic in how we save ourselves Names matter, negotiating with normies’ mental models matter (Says the girl who picked “germ.”)

Yes. A proper process would go through user interviews, do cross cultural impact, etc 

I’ve been using “Bluetooth” as an example. “Wifi” might be another one. 

As Mark says, can we be aspirational enough to take on “internet”?

I don’t see anyone else coming to save us.

Yes - hence it will take time & I don’t think it’s going to be done in a thread at all. I’m certainly not qualified but I know some people who are.

Maybe the move is to reclaim the @ Cc @anna.germnetwork.com

I kinda like just "log in with your @", with whatever explanatory help text, and gradually decrease the amount of explanation needed as it becomes more ubiquitous

(like internet handle but more of a symbol; ideally a cool logo not just the literal @ char, and could be tailored per app)

maybe I watched too many commercials when I lived in America, but I can so easily imagine generic voiceover guy saying "Powered by ATProto"

my vote would be for "ATmosphere handle"

a variant of a recognisable English word distinguished by its capitalisation

and you can further strengthen the branding by also mentioning "powered by ATProto"
IDK about "internet handle." 

The internet means something to people and what it means is something bigger than AT Protocol. 

Why not #atproto handle? That's what it is, isn't it?

my two cents h1 - Log into the Atmosphere summary - Use your internet handle details - This would be a domain you control. Most likely from Bluesky, Tangled, Gander, or other AT protocol applications. a - Learn more about the AT Protocol and owning your social media data

how do we convey it's the @ that cares about your human rights, can that be a thing can that be our thing

Bailey Townsend 🦀's avatar
Bailey Townsend 🦀
@baileytownsend.dev

Guide on what to name the handle/username/signin on your atproto/ATProtocol/AT Protocol/Atmosphere app/website/application/cli - 100 < users: BlueSky - 110 > Bluesky - atleast 1 did:web user, Bluesky/atproto handle - 1k > ATProtocol handle - 10k > Internet Handle - 40m > Bluesky handle

midwest emo fan's avatar
midwest emo fan
@natalie.sh

been sketching off this idea of the internet handle. i don't completely hate it now

Post image
Yep. Not a protocol name.

Google and Facebook logins mostly use OAuth / OpenID - but impose their brand. 

Can we go through a process to share something like “internet handle” as a term that is collectively stewarded? 

We’ll see. This is a brand/design/legitimacy process that needs work.

my vote would be for "ATmosphere handle" a variant of a recognisable English word distinguished by its capitalisation and you can further strengthen the branding by also mentioning "powered by ATProto"

IDK about "internet handle." 

The internet means something to people and what it means is something bigger than AT Protocol. 

Why not #atproto handle? That's what it is, isn't it?
a man with a beard says you 're scared

Per my cofounder the naming goal should be something like email It’s simple and neutral: mail, but e-lectronic So staying close to the @ feels smart - it’s the universal form of identity on this thing we call social media

wondering about the branding of something like "@ handle" both a nod towards atproto but also the common act of tagging someone else (identity!)? It's broader than any specific product on atproto but not claiming to dominate the internet.
Ted Han★ 韓聖安's avatar
Ted Han★ 韓聖安
@knowtheory.net

So much of this should focus on some basic branding. Like, how would normal people use it in a sentence? This is what was brilliant about "tweet". "You can find me 'at' knowtheory.net " makes sense and has previous history. I'm less excited about "My internet handle is 'at' knowtheory.net "

Per my cofounder the naming goal should be something like email 

It’s simple and neutral: mail, but e-lectronic 

So staying close to the @ feels smart - it’s the universal form of identity on this thing we call social media
wondering about the branding of something like "@ handle" both a nod towards atproto but also the common act of tagging someone else (identity!)? It's broader than any specific product on atproto but not claiming to dominate the internet.
Ted Han★ 韓聖安's avatar
Ted Han★ 韓聖安
@knowtheory.net

I'll be honest, I'm not especially worried about whether we call it "internet handle" or "at handle" or something else. I'm thinking more about things like this.

i have said this before but if you are actually interested in influencing people beyond a narrow circle of too-online journalists you will be making direct to camera videos on tiktok, instagram and youtube. if you primarily post on text-based social media then you're just dicking around.

I think that the login form on every atproto app should be different because I like individuality

something like this

Post image
my two cents

h1 - Log into the Atmosphere

summary - Use your internet handle
details - This would be a domain you control. Most likely from Bluesky, Tangled, Gander, or other AT protocol applications.

a - Learn more about the AT Protocol and owning your social media data

Literally. We aren’t the entire internet as cool as that’d be… I don’t understand why this is the direction y’all want to go. The protocol has already coined a term for this. Atmosphere. Just use it and people will begin to understand. Use something completely unrelated and it will cause confusion.

IDK about "internet handle." 

The internet means something to people and what it means is something bigger than AT Protocol. 

Why not #atproto handle? That's what it is, isn't it?
a man with a beard says you 're scared

What about it

A bright blue and white graphic reading 

Welcome to the @internet 
The future of the internet is being built on the AT Protocol. 
Just log in with your @ [and a photo of a blank smartphone]

Great marketing defines the answer by the questions it asks: "what's your @?" "what can you do with it?" "where can you use it?" just one site? or everywhere worth going?

What about it
A bright blue and white graphic reading 

Welcome to the @internet 
The future of the internet is being built on the AT Protocol. 
Just log in with your @ [and a photo of a blank smartphone]
Ted Han★ 韓聖安's avatar
Ted Han★ 韓聖安
@knowtheory.net

It is so funny that people are calling a discussion about network ui and ux as a scandal. How do people think communities and open decisions get made? Discussion is important! Disagreement is ok!

Welcome to the ATmosphere. It’s an ecosystem of independent apps including @bsky.app, @leaflet.pub, and @anisota.net. You sign in to all of them using your @ handle which is tied to your ATmosphere account. The apps and companies don’t control your data, identity, or username anymore… you do.

This has been the most approachable proposal imo but doubling down on what I said yesterday about UX/content needing to lead this, this also needs research and talking to people not directly invested in a solution.

What about it
A bright blue and white graphic reading 

Welcome to the @internet 
The future of the internet is being built on the AT Protocol. 
Just log in with your @ [and a photo of a blank smartphone]
midwest emo fan's avatar
midwest emo fan
@natalie.sh

its probably obvious im not a designer here lol

midwest emo fan's avatar
midwest emo fan
@natalie.sh
been sketching off this idea of the internet handle. i don't completely hate it now
Post image
Yep. Not a protocol name.

Google and Facebook logins mostly use OAuth / OpenID - but impose their brand. 

Can we go through a process to share something like “internet handle” as a term that is collectively stewarded? 

We’ll see. This is a brand/design/legitimacy process that needs work.
Rudy wants revolution.'s avatar
Rudy wants revolution.
@rude1.blacksky.team

If your thing says Bluesky without mentioning Blacksky, it's cool -- I'm just going to act like you and your project and your company don't exist. It's atproto or stay on your side.

Also @rude1.blacksky.team won’t let us get away with it 

He’s holding this whole community to account! Because it *is* the protocol
Ronen Tamari's avatar
Ronen Tamari
@ronentk.me

Agreed, and at the same time I feel we have barely scratched the surface on the power of movements: there is something important in what my friend Ida wrote here idajosefiina.com/services-1

Steven Vandevelde's avatar
Steven Vandevelde
@tokono.ma

I like the internet handle thing except maybe for the fact that it looks so much like your email address. I suppose if I say my internet handle is @tokono.ma and my email is email@tokono.ma That kind of makes sense. But what if my handle was @steven.tokono.ma and email steven@tokono.ma? 🤷‍♂️

You keep playing around with variants, trying to whittle the concept down to its essence:

"my @handle on ..."
"my @internet.handle"
"my handle on the @internet"
"@my.handle"

Only to realize you keep circling around:

"my @"

Because it's all about centering *you*, rather than the site you're at
Likewise, the existing @handle convention (with no periods) is widely understood to only work well on a single site

Hence the typographic brilliance of the "Internet Handle" concept.  Adding a period inside @handles makes it clear where they can be used -- anywhere on the Internet

All the discourse about ATproto handle or internet handle etc just convinced me I'm on the right track just saying "log in with your whatever". Although I'd probably just settle for a button that just says "Atmosphere". *stokes the flames a bit*

Eli Mallon's avatar
Eli Mallon
@iame.li

atproto login discourse is calming down, maybe I should do a an atproto login page tier list so we all get angrier 👀 jk I think maybe every single Streamplace contributor is waiting on me for code review right now, that’s today’s stream

Eli Mallon's avatar
Eli Mallon
@iame.li

See I can live without “internet handle” but I’m just not sold on leading with “Atmosphere”. If someone has legitimate curiosity or confusion they can’t google it like they could with “AT Protocol” or atproto

alright the internet handle, atmosphere, atproto discourse has been fun, but i think it’s time we all got back to the hard work of making shit people wanna actually use in the first place

Erlend Sogge Heggen's avatar
Erlend Sogge Heggen
@erlend.sh

I’ve oftentimes said AT-net as a more explicit way to talk about the Atmosphere, thinking of it as AT-net = the network Atmosphere = the ecosystem The cuter spelling is @net. Soo, might have a go at ‘Login with @net address’ It’s semantically similar to ‘internet handle’ so they can co-exist.

Thinking about atproto login flow and I’m leaning towards the following: 1. No technical jargon, let the infrastructure fade into the background. 2. Identity is contextual, use language that reflects intent (writing as, reading as, etc). 3. Bring an identity or start a new one. Thoughts?

i should say “sing in with your AT handle” is easily my second favorite. sounds exactly like @ handle, but clear tie to AT and visually different doesn’t require so much arguing, capitalizes on AT wordplay but it needs to link to normie explainer etc

Wesley Finck's avatar
Wesley Finck
@wesleyfinck.org

It would be awesome to use a collective deliberation tool like polis for making sense of atproto ecosystem-wide discussions like sign in branding / terminology. Bsky threads are not the appropriate format. plus many more voice can contribute meaningfully.

I’m very confused by this internet handle discussion. If the protocol design has been consistent about one thing, it’s that atproto is *not* an authentication system. You’re signing-in with a DID that uses DNS as a certificate authority.

Ricardo J. Méndez's avatar
Ricardo J. Méndez
@ricardo.bsky.social

What this ecosystem needs is a way for people to sign up for Bsky accounts without them having to ask "what the fuck is Bluesky?" Effectively, a flow that's as transparent as OAuth for sign-ups. We're almost there, but every step you ask someone a question you double your odds of losing them.

Step 1: Leaflet's "Log in / sign up with Bluesky" prompt.Step 2: an unfamiliar logo - if your entry point was Leaflet - and Bluesky once again asking if you want to create an account.Step 3: FINALLY we get to some details that users may want or need to enter.Different path: Deer.social asking people if they want to sign in with a particular provide, or what were we talking about and what's an ATmosphere?
i think long term @ is the right symbol (and it was genius to hijack it with AT branding) but in short term you can’t rely on it alone because it is squatted by the app-local concept. so “AT handle” to disambiguate in the transitional period, with @ in visual design

hard agree, we need something to link people to as a quick intro/run-down of atproto besides "it's the protocol that powers bluesky" and i think this is the perfect opportunity for that

Tynan Purdy's avatar
Tynan Purdy
@tynanpurdy.com
atproto.com should maybe be user facing and docs should live at docs.atproto.com
AT Protocol

AT Protocol


https://atproto.com
The Case For Universal Login and "Off-Protocol" Services
Snapshot of recent discourse:
https://discourse.atprotocol.community/t/the-case-for-universal-login-and-off-protocol-services/348/13
Research Project for ATProto Ecosystem Brand and User Experience Needs
seconded! if bluesky itself doesn’t work for day to day, could we use this discourse instead of ?
https://discourse.atprotocol.community/t/research-project-for-atproto-ecosystem-brand-and-user-experience-needs/395/8