I definitely get the impression that Jeff is more surprised than upset by users who have used cookie-based accounts for long periods. If I recall correctly, th

I definitely get the impression that Jeff is more surprised than upset by users who have used cookie-based accounts for long periods. If I recall correctly, the record for longest "active unregistered account" is around 2 and 1/2 year (Stack Overflow is just shy of 3 years old, for comparison). That's a loooong time to go without clicking a Google/Facebook/Whatever button. Of course, not having to register is completely by design and almost certainly never going to change, it's such an obvious win from a user experience point of view. Disclaimer: Stack Exchange employee.