# "Re-Enter your email address." Why?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 4, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148 "2011-09-04T06:27:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/1 "2011-09-04T06:27:42Z")
Was tehre ever a logical reason to re-enter your email address on an online form?
Surely most people copy and paste from one field to the other, rendering the “confirmation” useless. And, also surely, if one of the email addresses you type is different, there’s no way to know which one is the right one? (Or do they compare them and ask you to fix it?)
We must be long past this need to do something so tedious. Alternative means are available to confirm a genuine email, and frankly I’m not sure if it’s that big a deal anyway.
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### Author:  [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/2 "2011-09-04T06:58:10Z")
It’s to cut down on mistyped addresses. If the addresses differ, you’ll be asked to try again. Your email address is the only way most online entities have to contact you, so if you mess it up, they’ll have no way of letting you know.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/3 "2011-09-04T07:20:08Z")
I know that, but it’s outdated. People copy and paste, or autofill. It really needs to stop.
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### Author:  [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/4 "2011-09-04T07:32:41Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> I know that, but it’s outdated. People copy and paste, or autofill. It really needs to stop.
You’re right, they should change it to “now enter your email address a second time, backwards.” to prevent copy/pasting.
Copy and paste were available before the first web page existed so it was outdated when it first began by that thinking. But website designers still believe that forcing the user to enter it twice cuts down on incorrect addresses. Maybe the sheer hassle of having it that way forces users to pause and understand it is important to get it right.
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### Author:  [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/5 "2011-09-04T08:27:49Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> I know that, but it’s outdated. People copy and paste, or autofill. It really needs to stop.
Autofill is okay. As for people copying/pasting, do you have any data to back up your claim? I only know the habits of three people (including me) in this regard, but we all type our addresses twice rather than copying/pasting.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/6 "2011-09-04T08:40:16Z")
The first sentence of the OP confirmed why it’s important to establish that the important info you just entered does not contain any typos.
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### Author:  [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/7 "2011-09-04T08:42:51Z")
> [@Pasta](#):
>
> I only know the habits of three people (including me) in this regard, but we all type our addresses twice rather than copying/pasting.
Put me down as a copier/paster. And add my vote to those who dislike the feature, though it wouldn’t make my Top Twenty List of Web Annoyances.
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/8 "2011-09-04T08:52:01Z")
I have watched too many people laboriously use the mouse rather than Tab to move to the next field, or to click a default button rather than just pressing Return, to believe that the same people are likely to use shortcuts such as copying and pasting the email address. These are people I work with, who are experienced computer users. I’m always surprised how many of them don’t use basic navigational shortcuts.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/9 "2011-09-04T08:54:41Z")
Just to clarify some more, I can certainly see the usefulness of it when it was first implemented - before autofill. But it just seems like we should’ve moved on by now.
Mind you, we should’ve moved on from using Captcha, because it clearly isn’t very effective either, but I still see it everywhere.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/10 "2011-09-04T08:55:17Z")
> [@septimus](#):
>
> Put me down as a copier/paster. And add my vote to those who dislike the feature, though it wouldn’t make my Top Twenty List of Web Annoyances.
Pretty much my same sentiment on all counts.
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### Author:  [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/11 "2011-09-04T09:08:22Z")
Eh, never bothered me. Only costs me another second or so of my time.
I don’t copy-paste email addresses. That’s just too much work.
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### Author:  [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/12 "2011-09-04T10:17:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> I know that, but it’s outdated. People copy and paste, or autofill. It really needs to stop.
I don’t copy and paste, because retyping helps ensure I’ve got the address right. Same thing goes for re-entering passwords. You seem to be under the impression it’s a way of “confirming a genuine email” - it’s not, it just guards against typos in the first email address, because if you do enter your email address wrong you’ll never get their email and you’ll never know why. And it only takes me an extra 3 seconds. It must be even less if you’re copying and pasting. I don’t really see the problem.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/13 "2011-09-04T12:28:19Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#):
>
> I don’t copy and paste, because retyping helps ensure I’ve got the address right. Same thing goes for re-entering passwords. You seem to be under the impression it’s a way of “confirming a genuine email” - it’s not, it just guards against typos in the first email address, because if you do enter your email address wrong you’ll never get their email and you’ll never know why. And it only takes me an extra 3 seconds. It must be even less if you’re copying and pasting. I don’t really see the problem.
This. Sorry, I was taking it as a given earlier on that we all knew this already.
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### Author:  [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/14 "2011-09-04T13:14:49Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#):
>
> I don’t copy and paste, because retyping helps ensure I’ve got the address right. Same thing goes for re-entering passwords. You seem to be under the impression it’s a way of “confirming a genuine email” - it’s not, it just guards against typos in the first email address, because if you do enter your email address wrong you’ll never get their email and you’ll never know why. And it only takes me an extra 3 seconds. It must be even less if you’re copying and pasting. I don’t really see the problem.
I typo like hell, but you know how many important emails I’ve not received because a of mistyped email in 13 years of internet? Big fat goose egg. God damn none. I know what my email looks like. Why not make it optional and make everybody happy? If the check is blank then don’t check or something.
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### Author:  [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/15 "2011-09-04T13:17:20Z")
Just to add to what’s already been said: a surprisingly large number of people signing up for accounts or buying things will type their own email address wrong. The people most likely to make a mistake are less likely to use autofill or copy-paste. And signup problems typically account for a large proportion of support tickets and complaints.
I don’t know of any stats though, or studies measuring the effectiveness of the technique.
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### Author:  [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/16 "2011-09-04T13:22:19Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#):
>
> I typo like hell, but you know how many important emails I’ve not received because a of mistyped email in 13 years of internet? Big fat goose egg. God damn none. I know what my email looks like. Why not make it optional and make everybody happy? If it’s blank then don’t check.
I bet if there were any way to get data on this it would show that it’s not uncommon for people to mistype their email addresses. I’ve done it before when I’m rushing and it’s been caught as “your email addresses don’t match”. I’ve definitely done it with passwords when the letters are starred out. The reason they don’t make it optional is because if someone simply mistypes their password, that customer is probably lost forever. They’ll have no way of contacting them. Putting in the second box only adds 3 seconds to the process and is potentially beneficial to both customer and company. I don’t really get why it’s a big deal.
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### Author:  [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/17 "2011-09-04T13:28:00Z")
I know a lot of companies have a default “catch-all” email address for instance, because a lot of customers try to send emails to individual employees and misspell that individual’s email address. It’s not the same thing but it demonstrates how common it is for people to misspell email addresses. I’d suggest that if you’re putting your faith in people on the internet to never make typo errors, you’re putting your faith in the wrong thing. The OP himself made a typo in his first sentence!
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### Author:  [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/18 "2011-09-04T13:35:01Z")
At least two or three times, the form would not let me paste into an email address field. I had to manually type it.
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### Author:  [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/19 "2011-09-04T13:55:22Z")
Having worked as a library paraprofessional in a place where part of your job is to help people navigate the internet, I can tell you that I have seen a lot of people who either misremember their email addresses or have trouble typing their email addresses and passwords consistently. It’s not everyone, it’s not just folks who aren’t computer savvy, but it is a significant enough number of folks that I don’t care if I have to retype my email address when signing up for something; same goes for password choosing, as I often mistype one or the second when trying to sign up in a hurry.
As **isaiahrobinson** said, there’s a good reason why there’s almost always a general email address for a lot of companies, and it’s usually to help those who either don’t know who to direct their email to, or to solve the issue of misspellings of email addresses. My work email address uses my name, which has proven to be difficult for folks to spell in the past\*, so I can guarantee you that I may not get all of the emails intended for me if my work email were for general use by the public.
\*When you have to get your initial voter’s registration card adjusted three times because they don’t want to put your name on correctly, or folks completely misremember your name, it falls under this category, IMO. If I were a sales rep or someone who needed a more memorable “easy” name, I would have changed my name years ago to save myself the hassle.
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### Author:  [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/20 "2011-09-04T14:02:50Z")
Personally, I like the feature. I type quickly, and when I am running through my email address or my name, I tend to just zip right through it. I have made mistakes and not even known it. Same with password confirmations.
I fall on the side of it being a necessary evil, and a good one at that. And I never cut and paste. It’s quicker for me to hit \ and go right back to my email. Typing it is so much quicker for me.
Now if you want to get rid of something, take those damn spam bot blockers that make me type a word or two in to confirm I’m a human. I don’t know if these things work or not, but they work on me. Sometimes I can’t even read them, yet alone type them. I’ve gone 3 or 4 times to get a form submitted. Now THAT’S a pain in the butt. And I can’t imagine that someone out there hasn’t written software to figure out what those letters are better than a human can, thereby making that security feature worthless.
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