[WEB4LIB] re:OpenURLs and the problem of academic research

[Richard L. Goerwitz III]

Stefaan Renard wrote:

> I didn't find any reference to the Cookiepusher document ( cf.
> http://sfxserv.rug.ac.be/openurl/cookiepusher.html ). Are you
> aware of this solution to recognize a user who wants context-
> sensitive services?

All I can do is offer you my take on things, from what I've
seen so far:

Only a couple of vendors actually use the cookiepusher method.
And it seems to involve kludges like users clicking on images
and setting cookies.  The solution also relies on JavaScript,
as I recall, which is a security problem - and which really
shouldn't be mandatory for any general-use web system.  Also,
the cookiepusher method, from what I can see, can prove prob-
lematic if used via a reverse proxy (which many libraries do
use these days).

I'd really appreciate clarification on these points from peo-
ple who have been working with this method of providing context-
sensitive services.

-- 

Richard Goerwitz                               richard at Goerwitz.COM
tel: 401 438 8978