
      <h3>Distributed authentication<a id="da"></a></h3>
      <p>One of the more tedious moments in visiting a new website is filling out the registration form. Here at @site, you do not have to fill out a registration form if you are already a member of !affiliate-info. This capability is called <em>distributed authentication</em>, and <a href="@drupal">Drupal</a>, the software which powers @site, fully supports it.</p>
      <p>Distributed authentication enables a new user to input a username and password into the login box, and immediately be recognized, even if that user never registered at @site. This works because Drupal knows how to communicate with external registration databases. For example, lets say that new user 'Joe' is already a registered member of <a href="@delphi-forums">Delphi Forums</a>. Drupal informs Joe on registration and login screens that he may login with his Delphi ID instead of registering with @site. Joe likes that idea, and logs in with a username of joe@remote.delphiforums.com and his usual Delphi password. Drupal then contacts the <em>remote.delphiforums.com</em> server behind the scenes (usually using <a href="@xml">XML-RPC</a>, <a href="@http-post">HTTP POST</a>, or <a href="@soap">SOAP</a>) and asks: "Is the password for user Joe correct?". If Delphi replies yes, then we create a new @site account for Joe and log him into it. Joe may keep on logging into @site in the same manner, and he will always be logged into the same account.</p>