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Answers.com Now Only With Facebook and Own Login

Posted by timothy on from the you-haff-been-assimilated dept.

CptnHarlock writes "Today the registered users of Answers.com received an email informing them that the site has ended support for Yahoo, Twitter, Google, or LinkedIn as a way to sign into their site. Facebook is the sole external way left to log in. A local login and password were generated and sent by email and the old (non-Facebook) logins deactivated. Score another one for Facebook.com in the login consolidation wars."

5 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Reeeaaal smart by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Informative

    The only reason I can imagine sites are doing this is very short-term thinking. When you make Facebook your only way to log in, you make yourself dependent on Facebook, which let's not forget, could fall out of favor just as quickly as Myspace, or Geocities before that.

    It's a precedent that other sites should be afraid to set at all. They should be avoiding centralized login services like the plague. The current system is the best, where the only point of centralization is an email address, because email is 100% free and open (for now, although port 25 blocking and spam blocklist maintainers are threatening that)

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Reeeaaal smart by rwven · · Score: 4, Informative

      Except having worked with things like this, i know that facebook does no such thing. Facebook gives you nothing at all in return for using their services. The upside is that your content gets out, and shared on facebook....which drives users to your site. I'm sure facebook mines that data for all kinds of fun things though.

      -RV

    2. Re:Reeeaaal smart by JazzHarper · · Score: 4, Informative

      Answers.com did NOT make Facebook the only way to log in. They are eliminating support for three centralized login services, which should make you happy. They probably kept Facebook because too many people would have complained. However, the only thing you need to maintain an account on Answers.com is an e-mail address, which should also make you happy.

  2. Facebook the only EXTERNAL method to register by LordNicholas · · Score: 4, Informative

    Let's not overhype what's occurring here. FTA: "You now have two ways you can sign in and stay with us and keep your contributions and earned badges." They're only dropping support for other single sign on type logins, probably all of which had been provided by a 3rd party like Gigya. Standard old-fashioned site registration/login is still supported. I work for a major TV network website; we have single sign on via Facebook and also offer signup via the rogue's gallery of Twitter, LinkedIn, mySpace, etc in addition to a standard old-fashioned signup. Literally 99% of our signups come from either Facebook or standard registration. We'll probably drop support for the others as well, as they're not worth the dev resources or the fee we pay to Gigya.

  3. Re:Misleading summary by LordNicholas · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm disappointed that seemingly most Slashdotters couldn't even be bothered to read the article HEADLINE, let alone the summary or, god forbid, the article itself.