During 2005 I have probably registered for accounts on two times the number of sites as the ten prior years combined. With a month and a half remaining, I feel comfortable calling this the Year of the Password Manager.
In August, the simple-minded folks (that’s a compliment) at 37Signals asked the question URL or Username and Password? I appreciate how user accounts can enhance a site, but I also think they are often unnecessary.
Example 1. Rollyo lets me create my own search engine by telling it what sites to include in a search. While they have a number of advanced features, there should be no need for me to be a member to create a search. Unfortunately, registration is required.
Example 2. Riffs, billed as a better epinions, looks pretty cool. I tried to give a thumbs up to Lindsay Lohan and they told me to login. C’mon. I know you don’t want ballot-stuffers, but there are other ways around that. Plus, it’s not like this is presidential politics or a scientific poll.
Update: I stop the ranting and offer a few suggestions in The Year of the Optional Registration.
I often share the frusration you describe, but at Rollyo we only require registration if you want to save a search engine that you’ve created. I’m not sure there is another way to enable you to see your own search engines when you come to the site?
Dave–thanks for the comment. I give a couple ideas in my post Year of the Optional Registration.
I agree that registration is the permanent solution for keeping “ownership” of what I create on a site. However, my suggestion is that registration not be a barrier to being able to create content.