Discussion and considerations
We now turn to consideration of the need to provide for users and the questions raised by the need to identify and securely authenticate them.
Who needs users?
When a website was just a collection of static pages with links between them, there was no need for users at all. The whole idea of a content management system came about as sites evolved beyond that basic model. But even with a CMS in place, most sites will provide something for the anonymous user who has not been identified to the system. This is true even if the only thing that is offered to such users is a login screen. Some sites may make everything available to the casual visitor, apart from administration functions. So, we immediately have a requirement to support a class of people that we can call guests.
Perhaps in an ideal world, everything could be open. In practice, the management of content is usually controlled so that it can be done only by identified individuals. We will call them users,...
