username

[imoldernu]

from a non conformist geezer...

Knowing that using a Password Keeper is the right thing to do, a few bitter words for the people who standardized the computer language with the term

"username"

Over many years, I have signed on to literally hundreds, maybe even a thousand or more websites which require a username and a password to allow entry. For the most part, my browser remembers, but not all cases, so when I go to the site it will ask for my username...

So here's the part... Half the time, my username might be bobbo22, while the other half, my username would be bobbo22@my place.com...

Who screwed this up? Where was the internet police when this was allowed to happen?

Yeah... I know!!!!

 

[Sunset]

keepass allows you store both username and password, both available with a click of the mouse.

I purposely use complex odd usernames for all important sites like banks, so I could never remember them and I'd never want my browser to remember them either (its too hackable).

 

[target2019]

from a non conformist geezer...

Knowing that using a Password Keeper is the right thing to do, a few bitter words for the people who standardized the computer language with the term

"username"

Over many years, I have signed on to literally hundreds, maybe even a thousand or more websites which require a username and a password to allow entry. For the most part, my browser remembers, but not all cases, so when I go to the site it will ask for my username...

So here's the part... Half the time, my username might be bobbo22, while the other half, my username would be bobbo22@my place.com...

Who screwed this up? Where was the internet police when this was allowed to happen?

Yeah... I know!!!!

I think you are referring to some sites having a username of eight letters and numbers, while others use your email address.

That's not a screw up. What you see is two slices in time, with one being an older system that enforces a minimum login. The newer login let's you use email address with @ and period. That was not allowed in legacy environment.

System security continues to evolve.

 

[easysurfer]

keepass allows you store both username and password, both available with a click of the mouse.

I purposely use complex odd usernames for all important sites like banks, so I could never remember them and I'd never want my browser to remember them either (its too hackable).

I follow the same strategy with a password keeper program.

I used to use parts of my first and last name as my usernames but realized that's too hackable. So now it's initials plus randomly generated numbers as the user names. Some sites (credit card companies and banks I believe) all for changing usernames. I had to do that after finding a keylogger on my laptop.

 

[MRG]

Who screwed it up?

Well that goes back to the late '60s at least. Before Internet or standards there were legacy systems(they weren't legacy then). Dumb 3270 type devices hooked to a mainframe (my frame of reference). You entered up to 8 characters as your "username". Eight was a very generous length for a username in those days. Systems were limited by the amount of virtual storage they could address so you couldn't afford to allocate more.

As target2019 mentioned then the username was opened up for email addresses. Its odd how that happened way back and in many cases we continue to perpetuate the old limits. I recall my early years doing business applications in 370 assembly language, we were to remove "user" and replace it with "cust" as a VP thought that "users" had needles in their arms and heroine to inject. No joke external documents were changed, training updated, and no one was allowed to refer to a user of the system as a user!

 

[marko]

One of the many things I like about Chrome/Chromebook is that it almost always remembers my user name and, if I tell it to, my password as well.

Downside, if I ever do need to remember it, I'll never remember! (sort of like the downside of speed dial)

 

[target2019]

If your username or password is on this page, you may want to change it.

https://www.dragonresearchgroup.org/insight/sshpwauth-cloud.html

 

[easysurfer]

Who screwed it up?

Well that goes back to the late '60s at least. Before Internet or standards there were legacy systems(they weren't legacy then). Dumb 3270 type devices hooked to a mainframe (my frame of reference). You entered up to 8 characters as your "username". Eight was a very generous length for a username in those days. Systems were limited by the amount of virtual storage they could address so you couldn't afford to allocate more.

As target2019 mentioned then the username was opened up for email addresses. Its odd how that happened way back and in many cases we continue to perpetuate the old limits. I recall my early years doing business applications in 370 assembly language, we were to remove "user" and replace it with "cust" as a VP thought that "users" had needles in their arms and heroine to inject. No joke external documents were changed, training updated, and no one was allowed to refer to a user of the system as a user!

Ah, 3270 dumb terminals. As some say, "The good old days" .

 

[MichaelB]

Ah, 3270 dumb terminals. As some say, "The good old days" .

What was good about the 3270 compared with a nice LDC? Huge footprint, energy hog, lots of heat, weighed a ton, and the wonderfully burned image on the screen if you forgot to turn it off at night.

 

[easysurfer]

What was good about the 3270 compared with a nice LDC? Huge footprint, energy hog, lots of heat, weighed a ton, and the wonderfully burned image on the screen if you forgot to turn it off at night.

Of course, everything is relative. I came from an era from punched cards to 3270 terminals .

 

[MRG]

What was good about the 3270 compared with a nice LDC? Huge footprint, energy hog, lots of heat, weighed a ton, and the wonderfully burned image on the screen if you forgot to turn it off at night.

You could degauss them with a big magnet, try that with an LDC, erh no don't do that.

 

[Sunset]

Who screwed it up?

Well that goes back to the late '60s at least. Before Internet or standards there were legacy systems(they weren't legacy then). Dumb 3270 type devices hooked to a mainframe (my frame of reference). You entered up to 8 characters as your "username". Eight was a very generous length for a username in those days. Systems were limited by the amount of virtual storage they could address so you couldn't afford to allocate more.

As target2019 mentioned then the username was opened up for email addresses. Its odd how that happened way back and in many cases we continue to perpetuate the old limits. I recall my early years doing business applications in 370 assembly language, we were to remove "user" and replace it with "cust" as a VP thought that "users" had needles in their arms and heroine to inject. No joke external documents were changed, training updated, and no one was allowed to refer to a user of the system as a user!

Far worse was until last year the banks that limited the password to 8 characters
Now they have changed, but they didn't tell their customers to increase their password sizes

 

[imoldernu]

As long a we're going back into history, my memories of our Montgomery Ward as one of the early users of computers in the retail catalog business. While not in my own bailiwick, it was a daily interaction. Circa 1967, the computer operations were in support of teletype transfer of info (nighttime in lower cost off-hours) from field operations, to the major Catalog houses. Transfer was via paper tape automatic dialing to the Catalog "House" where picking and processing merchandise for truck transport shipping to field units took place.

In the Catalog houses, there were "white rooms" with older IBM tape reel computers for processing. The mailing lists were supported by keypunch operators... three shifts of 7 operators each.

Everything was based on IBM punchcards... wheeled from the TT room to the white room, for processing. Then to the shipping floor.

I think we were leaders in this type of retail commercial use... Sears followed several years later.

In addition to Teletype, and computer processors, the billing department was one of the first to changeover from clickety clack mechanical calculators to the first Monroe nixie tube calculator (just one, in the whole operation)... The 16 comptometer operators would stare , glassy eyed at this "new" machine... never dreaming that they would be replaced by it within the next three years.

Shortly after the mid '60's, I was the first in the building to have my own Sharp pocket calculator... I think an "elsi 8"... $500 with our corporate discount.

As long as we're off-topic, one more "advanced" electronic tool... Our district managers were equipped with briefcase fax machines. Lasted only one year... a failed experiment.

I think most of this took place before the 3270, mentioned in previous posts.
A long time gap, before I got back into computers in the early 1980's, with the Coleco Adam and the Sinclair.

 

[Bestwifeever]

....I recall my early years doing business applications in 370 assembly language, we were to remove "user" and replace it with "cust" as a VP thought that "users" had needles in their arms and heroin to inject. No joke external documents were changed, training updated, and no one was allowed to refer to a user of the system as a user!

I had to laugh at this, as I think I am addicted to the Internet....

 

[mpeirce]

Ah, 3270 dumb terminals. As some say, "The good old days" .

Those 3270 terminals would let you edit text locally without involving the mainframe - quite advanced for its time (well, certainly more advanced than, say, a blue pig which really was dumb).

(And I really like that the Wikipedia page for 3270 has a picture of a 3270 displaying an MTS login screen. Of course, the MTS Wikipedia page has a screen shot from a Mac emulating a 3270.)

 

[easysurfer]

Those 3270 terminals would let you edit text locally without involving the mainframe - quite advanced for its time (well, certainly more advanced than, say, a blue pig which really was dumb).

(And I really like that the Wikipedia page for 3270 has a picture of a 3270 displaying an MTS login screen. Of course, the MTS Wikipedia page has a screen shot from a Mac emulating a 3270.)

I remember being amazed using Smartcom software emulating a 3270 on my Mac Plus while telecommuting from home. Of course, over a 1200 baud modem .

 

[target2019]

I remember being amazed using Smartcom software emulating a 3270 on my Mac Plus while telecommuting from home. Of course, over a 1200 baud modem .

That's about the time I got involved. Moving up to 2400 Supramodem was momentous. My challenge was getting IBM formatted files into Mac DTP programs.

 

[sengsational]

What was good about the 3270 compared with a nice LDC? Huge footprint, energy hog, lots of heat, weighed a ton, and the wonderfully burned image on the screen if you forgot to turn it off at night.

And you can't even use them for boat anchors...they float!