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Comment by codingdave | Hacker News Reader

"The primary use cases for requiring a login are customization, multi-device sync and being able to reach out to the user."

No, the primary use case for a login is when you need to actually authenticate to be authorized to access secure data.

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That cannot be right, that explanation doesn't contain enough buzzwords and web-2.0 nonsense. Almost sounds very 1980s...

But really, does anyone else find that quote eye-rollingly tech-hipsterish?

I've been desensitized enough that it doesn't seem that bad. At least he wrote "reach out" rather than "initiate the onboarding funnel."

I prefer the term 'lead gavage'

While I do not agree with the premise of the quote, I don't find "customization" and "multi-device synch" tech-hipsterish - its exactly what happens with many phone app/webapp combinations.

They've since edited the article to say, "The primary use cases for requiring a login are providing security ,[sic] customization, multi-device sync and being able to reach out to the user."

I also see a login required on websites so they can monetize their customer base. For example pinterest or Houzz. Both websites should be able to operate without login.

Wouldn't that technically fall under customization? i.e. The customization of available data.

In a multi-user system, authorization isn't a personal custom configuration. One way or another, it's a social problem involving multiple actors, and those actors have identity that the system needs to distinguish.

Right. Everything they list can be achieved using session tokens and cookies.

Exactly.

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