The average computer user has to cope with the need to remember more than a dozen passwords to access companies they deal with on the Internet, and most of these are completely unnecessary. There is a definite need to establish recognition where financial matters are involved but that ubiquitous demand "enter login number and password " or "enter email address and password " is now fast becoming a requirement for just about every entity that does business on the Internet.
Initially, many companies seemed to think that demanding this sort of information enabled them to compile a mailing list of email addresses to use to send Spam offers in the hope of enticing further business, but their customers email address is prominent whenever an email message arises. The need for a password then becomes an impediment to further trade - if it becomes forgotten.
The Internet is fast becoming closed to what are best termed "casual shoppers "! The moment you do business with an Internet company for the first time they insist on establishing a password and usually that is then a requirement before any further transactions are possible. Just imagine if the big supermarket chains - Coles - Woolworths - Aldi - required each customer to present their customer number and password before they could pass through the checkouts ? Most have what they term a "Loyalty card ", but it's use is optional.
Shopping on the Internet should be equally available to the "casual shopper ". It is hard to see where that "password "serves any useful purpose when access to the cashier requires the shopper to select a payment method and input the necessary card details to complete the purchase. In many cases the need for a password actually deters customers from shopping on the Internet.
Typically, if someone buys a book for a friends birthday from an Internet bookstore and is required to establish a password it may be months or even years before they again make a purchase. If that password has been forgotten or only partly remembered, it will entail the procedure of resetting a new password, usually by the receipt of a temporary code by email from the company involved. That wastes time and can be an emotional drain on older people who lack advanced computer skills.
Password to block access seems to have established itself as a de facto requirement wherever trade by computer takes place, and it is very necessary where access to a persons finances are involved, but password are an unnecessary hindrance to trade in most other areas. This is particularly so when the email address serves as the recognition point that should establish the caller as a former customer and should a purchase take place exactly the same payment procedure will take place - as if access had been gained by way of password use.
It seems that the boffins who install computer programmes have a fixation with passwords and the retail world has not taken the trouble to think through the ramifications of demanding this form of recognition. Just as the person who spends a dollar in any supermarket chain is free to do so without jumping through hoops, perhaps the Internet traders need to rethink what it needs to do to keep the customers happy.
Good questions to ask are - "What does this achieve ? " and " Is it necessary ?
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