4 ms·

This isn't as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. The fact is that I DO give out keys to my house to a number of people that I trust. Likewise, I'v

by paul 18y ago

This isn't as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. The fact is that I DO give out keys to my house to a number of people that I trust. Likewise, I've used this import feature on a few websites that I trust, such as Facebook, and would be willing to do the same on Yelp if I used that. The notion that it's somehow unethical is just silly. Of course people should be hesitant to give their passwords to random web sites, but then again they should also be hesitant to give they address book out to random websites (I don't want spam just because you signed up for some scammy site). The people most likely to fall for scams probably use the same password everywhere, btw.

raganwald 18y ago
"I DO give out keys to my house to a number of people that I trust." Your house keys are less dangerous than your email password. As jeff points out, with your email password someone can probably take control of all of your web credentials. It's as if you have them your house keys, and then they use those to take control of your snail mail, and then they apply for new credit cards in your name, and order a new set of car keys, and so on. And of course, we are not talking about giving your house keys to a friend staying with you. We are talking about giving your house keys to the bartender because he says he can help you invite all your friends to have a drink with you.
- paul 18y ago
  With my house key, they can get to my email, so email permissions are narrower than house permissions. Someone with access to my house can definitely cause more trouble than someone who only has access to my email. It's not just friends either btw, I also give house keys to the cleaners, etc. If your email is so super secret, then you probably shouldn't trust Yahoo or Microsoft with it either, btw. I'm not saying that there aren't security issues, but you need some perspective here. Facebook is just as secure as Yahoo, so letting them use your Yahoo password really isn't that big of a deal.

by paul 18y ago

raganwald 18y ago

"I DO give out keys to my house to a number of people that I trust." Your house keys are less dangerous than your email password. As jeff points out, with your email password someone can probably take control of all of your web credentials. It's as if you have them your house keys, and then they use those to take control of your snail mail, and then they apply for new credit cards in your name, and order a new set of car keys, and so on. And of course, we are not talking about giving your house keys to a friend staying with you. We are talking about giving your house keys to the bartender because he says he can help you invite all your friends to have a drink with you.

paul 18y ago
With my house key, they can get to my email, so email permissions are narrower than house permissions. Someone with access to my house can definitely cause more trouble than someone who only has access to my email. It's not just friends either btw, I also give house keys to the cleaners, etc. If your email is so super secret, then you probably shouldn't trust Yahoo or Microsoft with it either, btw. I'm not saying that there aren't security issues, but you need some perspective here. Facebook is just as secure as Yahoo, so letting them use your Yahoo password really isn't that big of a deal.