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by flashmob 5206 days ago
email != identity There are better alternatives to login these days such as OAuth and OpenId, or FB for that matter. Nerveless, this script could be useful - well done!
3 comments

Maybe for you, but I prefer using my email address.

It's certainly plausible that Google or FB login is a more pleasant experience for customers, just be aware that a non-zero number of people will bounce from your site if that's all you offer.

No, I'm not talking about preference here. This is a general observation with email. It's so easy to go and get a throw-away account, which means that email is not best suited for identity as the other solutions. Sure, facebook and OAuth login suck because it gives the website you login to too much access to your data. However, not many hackers know about OpenId and that it's really cool for login. With OpenId, access to your data is more restricted, and the website doesn't have permission to access your account like in OAuth. Google's OpenID gets it right, it is possible to log in to sites without disclosing your email address, and that's how it should be.
It's so easy to go and get a throw-away account, which means that email is not best suited for identity as the other solutions.

How is that different from OpenID? Creating an account on e.g. MyOpenID is easy enough - you just need to write an username and a password; even the email field is optional.

who uses OpenID? I honestly don't know anyone that does, not even hackers
Do you have a Google Account? Your Google Account is an OpenId account. So is Yahoo. Many hackers use it without knowing...
Stack Exchange sites (e.g. Stackoverflow)?
Use something like OAuth, OpenID, or FB where email would suffice, and you lose me as a customer.