The debate over username versus email login has been raging for some time now (see here or here for instance), and is now of particular importance for the ftopia file sharing community.

Up till now, signing into ftopia has been done through a username. This allowed users to pick their own personalised name, and to log into several different accounts independently of the others.

However, we eventually found that these abilities have become liabilities. Having to remember two or more usernames and two separate passwords can be a pain at the best of times. It also meant that you would have to sign out and then sign back in again every time you wanted to switch from one account to the other.

Users also had to type in the subdomain for their account before they could log in. For casual users who are not IT-minded this was not always something that came naturally, and could become a frustration that prevented them from signing in quickly. With a username-based login system, this was however a necessity.

We want ftopia to provide a simple user experience that is easy to use for even the least technically minded person, and that means chasing down and eliminating any redundant processes that get in the way. Less is more, and removing clutter from the user interface aids communication in the same way that deleting sentences can sharpen up a blog post.

Our new email-based login process means that users with multiple accounts can quickly switch from one to the other without the need to log out and in again. It also means that users can log in directly from the ftopia home page, without the need to first type in the subdomain. And finally, it removes the need to define at sign up and remember when signing in this unnecessary piece of information. We hope that this change will make your experience with ftopia simpler and easier.

Now it’s time to think about the next step with respect to authentication, like using OpenID. We’d love to hear your views on these changes.