Alternative ways to login?

[Whitewolf]

Historically, I've basically only used TUJ as an online tool for occassional lookups as the mood strikes me.

It was only today that I found myself looking to obtain some downloadable realm reports, only to discover that I'd need to log in to obtain one.

So far, no problem.

In order to login I'd need to set up an account using one of the many listed ID services.

This is my problem.

I use ~none~ of them and have no desire to set up with any of them. Call me a dinosaur, but I'm not a big fan of social network sites and hesitate to join any. (I know it will sound strange to anyone under the age of 30, but some of us older nerds and geeks don't like too much interconnectivity.) I don't need up-to-date alerts and warnings, just basic access to the database.

Is there any way for me to obtain access to the kind of realm-specific reports I'm looking for without registering for Facebook, MySpace, etc? Have you considered adding a standard username/password setup? I'm sure I'm not the only Wow player with this problem.

[Reverb]

You do not use any of google's services such as google documents, gmail, or voice?

[Hacez]

Either case, you dont need any of the social networks do you? If you create a Gmail account, that should be enough. That should take 5 mins (unless they changed the signup process lately), and you dont really have to think about having that mail at all.

[Whitewolf]

You do not use any of google's services such as google documents, gmail, or voice?

Correct, correct and..uh...correct. (Well, I may have gotten a gmail addy waaaay back when they were first introduced and had a cool factor but I'm sure I let that go dormant over a decade ago.)

To put it in context, when I got my ear pierced back when I was 16, I was the second guy in a high school of 1500 to have one. Yes, I'm ~that~ old.

[Reverb]

Correct, correct and..uh...correct. (Well, I may have gotten a gmail addy waaaay back when they were first introduced and had a cool factor but I'm sure I let that go dormant over a decade ago.)

To put it in context, when I got my ear pierced back when I was 16, I was the second guy in a high school of 1500 to have one. Yes, I'm ~that~ old.

Unless this is borne out of some overarching privacy concern, I don't see how using a google e-mail address to log on would negatively impact you vs. the more classic sign on methods. It's convenient after the initial setup since the logging no takes place just by clicking on the relevant button the next time.

[Whitewolf]

Well, one needn't be in a witness protection program to prefer a measure of anonimity. And if I really wanted to talk to people I knew in highschool on a regular basis, I would have kept in touch.

I'm not saying I wouldn't get a new gmail address if that's what it takes.

It just seems strange to me that I would ~need~ to do so to get access to an unrelated website, without having the option to just set up a standard username/password account right on the site. The only reason I can see it being practical (from the site's perspective) is that the burden of weeding out bot inquiries would rest with the gateway service instead of the target site.

[Reverb]

Well, one needn't be in a witness protection program to prefer a measure of anonimity. And if I really wanted to talk to people I knew in highschool on a regular basis, I would have kept in touch.

I'm not saying I wouldn't get a new gmail address if that's what it takes.

It just seems strange to me that I would ~need~ to do so to get access to an unrelated website, without having the option to just set up a standard username/password account right on the site. The only reason I can see it being practical (from the site's perspective) is that the burden of weeding out bot inquiries would rest with the gateway service instead of the target site.

You aren't automatically integrated into Google+ upon creating a Google e-mail address. Google doesn't have that level of integration with their products (for better or worse). The Open ID looks like a viable option that doesn't entail associating with a social network operator.

[jimmyolsenblues]

you need to create a gmail account that only is used for logging in to other services...
gmail or yahoo email..you create an account..its not hard..
make it your throw away account...like a throw away phone.

I know its a pain..but the underminejournal is the greatest website ever for taking the boredom away from my job.
If the underminejournal dances the mambo , and I don't dance, then I am taking lessons...TUJ is the greatest website..ever.

[Erorus]

I don't see what your age has to do with anything.. I don't use Facebook, and have been switching to alternatives for the services I use from Google. I also stopped using LiveJournal. I don't blame you for not having a social network account. It's no big deal.

Forget Google and Yahoo. Get an OpenID. You don't get signed up for social networks or email or anything else, it's just a login you can use on TUJ and other OpenID-accepting sites.

[Whitewolf]

It's not really a matter of age.

I just never bought into the need to cross reference every aspect of one's life with every other aspect, even as I saw the trend becoming widely accepted and embraced, as the net went from being a bastion of isolated geeks to a necessary utility in most homes.

I didn't mean for this to turn into a speech. I'll climb off the soapbox now.

@Erorus Just out of curiousity, why isn't there a standard username/password method. Not criticizing, just asking for the rationale behind that choice.