Old Skool has a Demolition Deadline

[code_martial]

On March 15th, 2007 Flickr will be discontinuing the old email-based Flickr sign in system. From that point on, everyone will have to use a Yahoo! ID to sign in to Flickr. And so the FUD generation begins and the mass of comments includes gems like, "Why, Google, couldn't *you* have purchased my beloved Flickr?!". Seems like this dude has insider information about Google's promise to not slap Google/GMail IDs on stuff they buy. Oh wait, didn't they already do that?

The most common FUD items are:

• With a new Yahoo! ID comes a new email address. If I don't check mail every four months, the account gets deactivated. If the account goes, so do my photos!
  Well, no. De-activation of your mail account doesn't automatically de-activate your Yahoo! ID. Having a Yahoo! ID doesn't force you to use email just to keep the account alive.
  


• All the cool IDs on Yahoo! are already taken!
  It don't matter. Your Yahoo! ID won't show up as your Flickr alias. FWIW, just try getting the N00-blah-blah stuff that you get on Flickr before you set an alias. Or how about putting in a few dots while looking for a username? Dots are now allowed in Yahoo! IDs
  


• I'll have to sign in a zillion times. That Yapoo * login kicks me out every so often!
  Waal, whaddaya know. Yapoo... er... Yahoo! just updated the login timeout preferences to give you the option of staying logged in for two weeks now. Go set your pref. But this is all beside the point. Ask Flickr to remember you and it'll keep you logged in forever irrespective of Yahoo! network logout.
  


• I use multiple Yahoo! IDs, only one of which can be linked to the Flickr account. What if my Flickr is with foo@yahoo.com and I want to login as baz@yahoo.com? Huh? Huh? Tell? Tell?
  Well, if you're a bit tech savvy you might have guessed it from the last item. Neah, the good folks over at flickr.com have got you covered on that one. I myself have two Yahoo! IDs and the one I linked with Flickr is only used for IM otherwise. For everything else, I have a different account that I'm currently signed into Yahoo! network with.
  


• Oh F***! Why does Yahoo! need to know my sex and age and city and...
  Oh F***! Yeah! Why? Why? Don't bend over for 'em evil dudes at Ya-whatever! Offer thy privacy only to those non-evil demi Gods. No they don't scan your mail. Seriously!
  

So my beloved Flickrfolk, unwrinkle your foreheads now. Go ahead and merge Flickr with your favourite Yahoo! account. I did this about a month back so that I could access http://m.flickr.com and, well, I'm alive... so far, like that guy falling off the Empire [State] Building.

[*] Found this reference for Yahoo! among the comments. It's kinda cute :)