NBF Login is discouraging

The Login process on NBF needs a serious refresh.

Today I received a notification of new reply on a thread. When visiting I was not logged. Compare with Amazon: I can remain months without visiting them, when I come back I am logged; I think in 15 years of dealing with Amazon they never asked my PWD unduly a single time. And when accessing secure pages, then they duly ask for my PWD, but only my PWD (my UserID is already displayed), and they will keep me secure-logged for a reasonable time: no unreasonable or annoying re-request of PWD, that would endanger efficiency and friendliness; no unreasonably long login, that would compromise security. It's the same or nearly on many other sites, e.g. SitePoint Forums, Yahoo, etc. Oppositely on NBF when coming back I am always out-logged.

Second problem, the login is very painful. The "forgot PWD" process requests a Captcha! (in 2011 they still think Captcha is useful! and they apply it to "forgot PWD"!!), and in addition that Captcha is specially picky. I believe the ones who installed that process either never thought of what they were doing, or are definitely willing to lessen the quality of the forum, in particular by discouraging anyone not diehard aficionado of this particular forum.

Third problem, they don't give your PWD back, they reset it. So you have to think again about creating a new PWD (time loss).

Fourth problem, and the biggest, they tell you "All cookies cleared!" when loging out! (if you are using multiple browsers, in my case Chrome8 and IE6, you may have to logout and re-loging in when changing PWD so to make it remembered in each browser). I hope this is just a reckless phrasing and they didn't actually clear all my cookies!! And if they don't make this vast destruction of useful data on someone else's property (their visitor's PC) without their will or permission and even without asking or notifying them, then they should NOT say they are doing it!

In case there were someone short-minded enough at NBF to not understand what they are doing, please someone teach them: cookies have been built for a purpose, they are a big amount of very useful data, destroying them is a huge time loss; anyway, and even worse, changing something (even if not such a vast destruction) on someone else without their permission is a crime (and would be treated as such if there was still some real justice and some real court of justice).

Versailles, Tue 18 Jan 2011 08:47:00 +0100

Please read before "answering"

Please people, before posting, try to read what you feel like "replying" to. Did one of you really believe your ostensibly stupid assumptions on me, e.g. that I would have ignored the "remember me" link (while remaining logged on amazon for 15 years)? My post was long enough already, should I have added all the obvious? The funniest is those people provoking me so badly, then calling me "provocative". The best you achieve is recalling me the american saying: "Attempting to show others' stupidity most often ends demonstrating your own".

Someone wrote "we have had evidence that the forum is typically spammed less when it is on and so we keep it". Is that just random words, or is it an actual facts? in such case, can you elaborate and report the numbers, prior and after, of spams, of useful posts, or complaints of each sort? Personally I think, and I will continue to think as long as no sufficiently sincere and credible reports are brought, that under Captchas your loss in useful posts is higher than your gain in avoided spams.

Now please come back to helpful attitude:

• stop faking to not understand that the Login process on NBF is badly outdated (personally I feel like back in 1995)
• stop sending an "All cookies cleared!" message after someone did something as mundane as logging out: of course none will really think NBF has destroyed ALL their cookies, but the message such a dialog casts is essentially "we don't care about our work, we can do anything, including destroying anything, so be warned, don't trust anything to us"
• haven't you noticed that most modern sites have abandoned Captchas, after noticing this hampers more honest users than wrongdoers?
• when you find the email address someone sent you after "forgot PWD", and you decide to send them an unique secure link designed (as most sites, on that small point you are right) to reset the PWD, why in the world would you need, in addition, bother your visitor with an additional "security" hurdle? Did you ever THINK about that? Did this "thinking" really make you think this would efficiently hamper wrongdoers, and NOT hamper legit users?

Now I won't battle forever with people visibly more interested in ridiculing others than in understanding them - not to mention to cure and improve NBF. The flaw I reported is hurting NBF more than me, I tried to help, but I can't help people more interested in hurting than in helping others or even themselves.
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Versailles, Tue 18 Jan 2011 17:08:20 +0100

NBF keeps "remembering" visitors logged

Thanks "sRc" for your constructive reply - and my apology if I was a little too "responsive" to the (rightly or wrongly perceived) heat.

I don't know why Chrome8, who usually keeps me logged very well, lost my logged status on NBF. I will see.

I didn't understand your phrase about numbers and CAPTCHAs, however the important thing is to think ALSO of the negative impact onto fair visitors, and I see your care for this and for the rest, so it's OK for me now.

(making a title so to outlook your reply about remembering visitors)

Versailles, Tue 18 Jan 2011 17:45:00 +0100

Let's be accurate

I didn't even THINK that someone COULD IMAGINE (or more probably could fake to imagine) that I hadn't checked "remember me". What would YOU feel if a group suddenly implied you hadn't noticed or understood or done something that they obviously knew you had noticed, understood and done ?
Before accusing me publicly of calling someone short-minded, please quote and link the phrase where I called (according to you) "someone" such, hence WHO was thus "called... short-minded". Anyway, omitting the "In case there were" when raising this is clearly an offense against the truth and against myself.
this phrase was NOT "starting a post" but ending one, hence was in no way as reckless as you present it.
Readers will seee in the thread above who was the most - or the least - "Constructive and helpful", how I was "welcome here at NBF", and how "NBF members" are "trying to sort out any issues".

I continue to think as I thought for a decade about NBF: this forum has a lot of resources but (noting that they are far from the only or the worse ones) too often compromises them by an NIH, Resistance to change attitude that makes them fight any input that would change something to their routine.

Versailles, Tue 18 Jan 2011 20:09:00 +0100