On 18 Apr 2000, Tim Seifert wrote:
> _Replying to a message_:
> By: William F. Maddock <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> On: 17-Apr-00 04:16:44
>
> >> I do think there's something somewhat less than anonymous about using
> >> your e-mail address as a password.
>
> > That's so they can come and get you if you do any dastardly deeds to
> > their servers and/or users.
>
> Oh, I understand the "why," but calling it anonymous is just misleading.
> Certainly so to newcomers. They'd assume (reasonably), that logging
> onto a server anonymously actually means just that.
It's for historical reasons. The actual username "anonymous" is a special
case for FTP, avoiding the password check. The idea of using the email
address as the password for tracking purposes came later.
Fred Wright
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