Situation:
I wanted to write a post about a newspaper article that I saw today. I think it was going to be a pretty good post, maybe even witty. But in order to even search for the article, I had to make a user name and password at the newspaper’s site. Well, I don’t know if anyone else feels this way, but I’m tired of having to make user names and passwords
for every old thing. I’m sure I have a user name and password trail so long that anyone could follow it straight to my house. Probably straight to work, too, and to my parents’ house.
Not being able to access something simple is like not being able to try shoes on at the store until you sign up for their credit card.
Rabbit Trail:
Speaking of credit cards, I wanted to access one of my accounts online, which I have never done before, though I’ve had the card for three years or something. Being able to access things online is supposed to be quick and easy. It’s supposed to simplify life. I really believe this is true (insert sarcasm). So for this particular website, I jumped through their hoops. I didn’t have to create one password, but two: one for the website and one for the account itself. The specifications made it impossible to use anything I normally would. Somehow I managed to create one. Whew. Then it didn’t work. Then they sent me one that didn’t match their own specifications. It didn’t work. I created a new one. Hooray! But then … there was not one security question, but three, the most interesting one being “what is the name of your favorite teacher from your senior year of high school?”. What if I hated high school? What if I didn’t even go to high school? What if I was apathetic about all of my teachers? How then could I remember my answer? Somehow, through all my audible whining during this process, I managed to think of answers to the three security questions.
Discovery:
Sure, sure it’s for my protection. Credit card companies care about me so much. I owe them big time, really, for being so concerned. Whatever. It’s for their protection. If someone breaks through the barriers of only two security questions and accesses my credit card information, I might cancel my credit card and never reopen another one with them again.
Conclusion:
The internet sometimes feels like a dark alley that you can only walk through with bodyguards. I’d rather move out into the country.
Anybody with me?
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leafless said:
The Internet is not perfect. But without it, the world will be even less perfect.
October 24, 2008 @ 1:23 pm
Edward Atkinson said:
I’m movin’ to the country!
October 25, 2008 @ 11:23 am
Lindsey Anderson said:
leafless: I agree to a point. It is true that nothing comes without its imperfections!
October 27, 2008 @ 10:52 pm
Peter Atkinson said:
It seems to me that the staff of Mind Sprocket has gotten lost in a dark alley way, as there’s a lack of back page posts… it saddens me.
November 8, 2008 @ 2:57 pm