Comments on: Facebook Connect: Scary but good

Soon you'll be able to log in to sites like CNET with your Facebook ID.

[Kev_Orng]

Faustian? Maybe, but only the most foolish people will use their Facebook profile with their real name to comment on the multitude of sites they have a passing interest in.

My Facebook profile is for people I know. I wouldn't use it for public forums. And even though I keep my Facebook private, I still never put anything on it that I wouldn't want future employers (or voters, now that I think of it :) to see.

For sites like Cnet I choose a random name that has nothing to do with the real me, or even the fake me, and as for your extra user data, my policy is: Don't ask me no questions and I won't tell you no lies.

Data mine that, Sunshine!

Sincerely,
Lord Neville Tweakbottom

[francissawyer]

Rule #1 for Webmasters: DO NOT TRY TO USE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS AS A USER ID.

Any site that wants users to log in must allow them to set up a legitimate ID. An E-mail address is NOT a suitable ID, for several reasons. First, most people have more than one E-mail address at this point, and they should not be expected to remember which one they used (perhaps years ago) to sign up at a Web site. Second, E-mail addresses change over time with job changes, ISP changes, cable-company mergers, whatever. Third, they're simply cumbersome.

Users should be able to set up the ID of their choice, so they can use the same one at all the sites they frequent.

Nothing marks a site as amateur-hour like trying to use an E-mail address as a log-in ID. Just don't do it.

[faboumen]

" Nothing marks a site as amateur-hour like trying to use an E-mail address as a log-in ID. Just don't do it.
"
Users should be able to set up the ID of their choice, so they can use the same one at all the sites they frequent.

that's just plain stupid.

it makes no difference.

use whatever you want. If you patronize the site and have something invested in it, you will remember and maintain your log in credentials. If you dont, then forgetting wont have a cost - you simply create a new account. Or not. Use bugmenot (the site) to find a login

[ross613]

I'm usually not this critical, but here I'm going to be. The video version of this commentary (done by another reporter at http://news.cnet.com/1606-2_3-50004636.html) either deliberately or as a result of techno-bigotry that sometimes rears its ugly head on CNet completely ignored the de factor standard in ubiquitous authentication providers: Microsoft's Live ID.

Contrary to this article and the video report in particular, Live ID is very much a standard employed on numerous websites - and can be very easily integrated into virtually any kind of web application. It's most useful when integrated into a .NET application (it is Microsoft's baby after all), but why an alternative as popular as Live ID went unmentioned in this course of researching this story is quote beyond me.

You guys can do a lot better job than this, surely. Especially if you want to. ;)

[markb1967]

It all comes down to information that can be used by advertisers, or unfortunately...the Government.
Don't be fooled into thinking that your Mac address can't be matched up in a few minutes if you do something illegal on the web, and the guys in black want to talk to you. Thisis just another tool for some people to track your online business easier. IP address, Mac Address, email address, cookies, temp files, the list goes on...Yes, they help us surf easier, but they also give away so much about ourselves to anyone who is watching.

[ayoung45]

This is a good idea... but I probably won't use it. I'll stick to my regular Cnet user login.

This is an interesting article.

[Mr. Dee]

Its so annoying to keep so many user names and passwords, I have a Microsoft Access database with all the sites I participate on and use Vista's Sidebar Gadget notes for the most popular sites. Its even weird that ZDNET and CNET sister websites don't use the same log info from the same user.

[rconnor1]

i actually like this facebook connect, it makes it so i dont have to remember 20 different accounts, and is easier than openid.

[mdf1099]

Checking out FB connect now...

[BobCozzi]

I don't get it? Facebook Connect? Is their database encrypted? Is there data mirrored and regularly distributed via HA services to backup systems? Is there data in something other than PHP and mySQL? I sure hope so or any site using Facebook Connect better be ready when (A) the data is lost or corrupted, or (B) is stolen.

Using what I would call "toys" such as PHP and mySQL for a website is great when you're in your basement developing the next hot website, but continuing to us it for high-volume production work or security oriented data is just illustrating a dangerous trend in the world of IT in the U.S. and that is using hobby tools at home and then projecting that into a small to medium (or worse) a large business/company database.

No wonder DOS and hacking is so easy on these sites.