[wp-hackers] users vs. usermeta

[Rob]

Does this "dynamic" feel to data such as IM systems mean that there will 
be a dynamic user information page in the admin panel, too? It would be 
nice if, as a plugin writer, I could add a usermeta field and have it 
appear in the Users -> Your Profile screen automatically.

The problems I can immediately foresee are type - how to know whether to 
display a check box or a text area, for example - and the fact that 
plugin authors might not want this behaviour. The former could be solved 
by guessing, I imagine - taking "foobar" to require a text input and 
"true" to require a check box, but that feels a little clunky. The 
latter could just be solved with a boolean "display" field.

What do you reckon?