Why Don't You Have a Yahoo! ID?

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Yahoo!

Why Don't You Have a Yahoo! ID?

by Joe Beaulaurier Aug 6th 2006

Several months ago I recommended to a group that we use Yahoo! Groups to set up a mail list and group communication site. A few in the group rolled their eyes and with a great deal of emotion said something to the effect of, "That means you have to set up a Yahoo! ID and then tolerate all the xxxx that comes with it." I was stunned. The "what" that comes with it? I've had and used the same Y! ID since the late 1990's and haven't had any stuff to put up with.

People have several different IDs to access their accounts at gmail, digg, technorati, webshots, bloglines, goowy, etc. Isn't there value to having one ID that accomplishes all that (Y! Mail, Y! Photos or flickr, MyYahoo!, MyWeb, etc.)

There are those who don't or won't bother to change their marketing settings (which you use to opt in/out out of third-party offers and Yahoo! communications). I would guess those folks see "unsolicited" email that they weren't expecting nor want.

What are the reasons that keep you from getting a Yahoo! ID?

Tags: access, privacy, private, security, spam, yahoo, yahoo id, YahooId

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Infernal Device said 7:23PM on 8-06-2006

I've got one. I've also got an MSN id, a MySpace ID, a gmail account, etc., etc. and a bunch of accounts that just sort of lay around, having not been touched in years.

I would gladly accept a single point of sign-on for all of these services. It's freaking annoying as hell having to go through the sign up process each for each service, although individually, it doesn't take long.

Arc|Angel said 7:41PM on 8-06-2006

I had all of those ID's as well but I deleted my Yahoo ID. I got tired of them assisting (without any question) putting Chinese citizens in prison.

If they fought to keep user privacy but had to give in or go to jail themselves then I would of not cared. But since they seem to want to bend over backwards for money from the growing Chinese market I am not interested.

Jack said 8:01PM on 8-06-2006

1. I don't have to have a number after my google user name.

2. I use my google account for Gmail, Google Video, Picasa Web Albums, Browser Sync, Notebook, Reader and Calendar.

3. I enjoy an uncluttered interface.

John said 8:46PM on 8-06-2006

I have one I use it for my "public" email

Jinto said 8:54PM on 8-06-2006

That msg sounds like an advert for Yahoo. I have a yahoo adress, but don't use it for anything. Mainly so people don't use my name. I also got into that beta, but it is nothing special compared to Gmail.

Joe Beaulaurier said 9:06PM on 8-06-2006

@Jinto - This post sounds that way because I am unapologetically a Yahoo! fanboy, even at this time when it is unkewl to say anything that doesn't put Google on a pedestal.

Anthony said 9:43PM on 8-06-2006

Who doesn't have a Yahoo ID? lol, I had my ID for years and I NEVER get any porn or anything! Now.. lets talk about gMail....

Shannon said 10:45PM on 8-06-2006

Geesh...What is this I'll shouw you mine if you show me yours. I've had all of them, and yes now I only use Google. Google is the easiest and like the other poster said, it has the cleanest interface.

Let us also remember who gave us the 2 Gig storage first.

Brian said 10:49PM on 8-06-2006

I'm glad you brought this up, Joe! Like you, I find a ton of value in integrating / simplifying my online life. I find that more valuable than some of the useless gadgets that others decide to churn out / throw against the wall to see if it sticks. When did real value become passe?

The breadth of Yahoo! offerings is insane -- My Yahoo!, Photos, Music, Video, My Web, email, messenger, maps, games, message boards, groups, fantasty sports, (tabbed) Y! toolbar, and the list goes on and on. Admittedly, they have been leapfrogged in some areas, but they are comparable, or superior, to others in most. And trust that some great things are on the horizon.

Unfortunately Google has the buzz, but if simplicity and breadth of service are important, then Yahoo! can't be beat.

bluesaze said 11:13PM on 8-06-2006

I disagree yahoo I get way more spam in my yahoo account than in my gmail account, including my yahoo group which gets tons of XXX/Spam stuff even though I have restricted all the settigs to only the people who are in the group.

Michael Chapin said 11:17PM on 8-06-2006

Yahoo annoys me by asking for my password everytime I try to do anything at all. Google, remembers me without having to retype my password everytime. MSN remembers me also. Come on Yahoo stop asking me for my password.

shadekh said 11:19PM on 8-06-2006

Yahoo was the first email id i got, and have kept it ever since. Its very old now, and receives tons of crap (i blame it on my early foolish days), but still occasionally receieves a mail from one of my older friends who arent aware of my new id. Seeing that i move around a lot, its nice to have something that stays the same.

Having said that, i prefer gmail over yahoo easily. Still, i would never let go of my yahoo id.

As for spam, i find them both more or less acceptable, though yahoo does catch spam better in some instances.

Brian O said 11:25PM on 8-06-2006

A google account and you get bookmarks, Google Reader (Handy for reading multiple blogs), email, gtalk, and a lot more. Oh, and a personalized homepage with just about anything you want on it. :)

Joe Beaulaurier said 12:02AM on 8-07-2006

@Michael - Y! will ask you for your password as often as you tell it to. You have set it to ask you frequently so it's doing as told. If you don't know how to change it, simply go to http://edit.yahoo.com/config/set_profile (yes, you'll have to log in at this point - a step to protect your account configuration) and then look for the last item on the page, "Prompt for Password:" Set it to every 15 minutes, every 1, 2, 4, 8 hours, or just every day.

Don't blame Y!. The software's just doing what it's told to.

james said 12:12AM on 8-07-2006

you dare ask why I had a ya-suck address for my sign business and thanks to those yahoos I lost not only pics and mail I lost over 900 coustmers what a rip + gmail has abso-freakn-lootly N-O NO NONE NILL ZILCH ZERO NADA SPAM UNLESS YOU SIGN UP FOR IT EVEN YAHOO BUSINESS HAS IT WHEN YOU DON'T ASK

TheBizofKnowledge said 12:35AM on 8-07-2006

I've had a couple of different Yahoo IDs over the years. I've noticed that the older ones (from the late '90s) get upwards of 300 spam messages in a single week (with the spam filter catching approximately 98% of those). The newer accounts don't nearly get as much spam, but I think that's due to the fact that I'm now very careful about where I enter my email address.

Why would people object to getting a Yahoo ID? Come on, it gives you access to so many different games and music videos!!

Grimbus said 12:38AM on 8-07-2006

@Joe B/#12 - I think that's pretty much what Michael's talking about. The longest Yahoo! will go without asking your p-word is a day, whereas the only time I ever have to re-renter my gmail pw is when I've logged into a different google account. Since I don't often do that (my additional gmails are mostly placeholders), I'll go weeks or longer without getting held up in the middle of trying to check my mail.
Checking my gmail: 1 click. (firefox toolbar bookmark)
Checking my Y!mail: A click, a password entry, and -then- a click on "inbox" at the "welcome screen". Takes way longer.
Why Y! mail doesn't take you right to you inbox, I'll never know. Don't tell me I've got ### of new emails, lemme see em!

Granted, this is obviously not "why I don't have a Yahoo! account", since, obviously, I do. I've got a few. But it is why I only use them for less important and less trusted things.

And all that yellow is harder on the eyes.

Joe said 1:57AM on 8-07-2006

I personally never found anything appealing about Yahoo! in general. The recent redesign of the site is really nice, but it's a little too late for me. I'm set in my ways now. I rarely go to any web portals now, thanks to Firefox and Google. Google helps me find whatever I'm looking for quickly and with little hastle, and Firefox has built-in RSS live bookmarks, so I basically don't need most of the features that a Yahoo! account offers. Google is fast, clean, and simple.

tozzer577 said 3:25AM on 8-07-2006

i use a gmx (german provider) account for most of my mails at home. i download them from the server via mac mail. when i'm at work i use yahoo, because i think the gui is very friendly and easy to use. it's true that you have to enter a password and click two or three buttons to get to your inbox but that hasn't stopped me from using y! yet.
about gmail: i don't know what it is, but i just don't trust gmail as much as yahoo... just an irrational feeling.

milan said 6:38AM on 8-07-2006

This is really pathetic.

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