# "Re-Enter your email address." Why? **URL:** \ **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:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/21 "2011-09-04T14:11:33Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > 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. Passwords are another OT one. I don’t mind them being double since you can’t proof read what you typed. What I’d like is the ability to switch off whether password fields show the letters or not. The biggest danger to me isn’t someone reading it over my shoulder, but not remembering it. Being able to actually see whatever I come up with is a great memory aid. Actually now that I think about it, it wouldn’t be that hard to make a bookmarklet to convert password type input elements into text input elements. Anyway back on topic. I see your point. I don’t like it, but I see it. > [@](#): > > 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. Because life is full of unnecessarily tedious things, this just adds to it. All those seconds add up to real annoyance. After a while your patience runs thin. Ever fill out paper work and have to write your name and address 10 different times in the same forms? In the age of computers seems a pretty stupid way to go about it. The people responsible should be executed slowly and painfully via terminal writer’s cramp. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/22 "2011-09-04T14:33:28Z")
> [@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. How could you possibly know how many emails you _haven’t_ received? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/23 "2011-09-04T14:48:20Z")
Ditto on neccessary evil. I for one do not copy/paste my e-mail address in the 2nd field because this feature has in fact helped me in quite a few cases where I did to my adress what the OP did to their second word. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/24 "2011-09-04T15:21:58Z")
> [@LeeshaJoy](#): > > How could you possibly know how many emails you _haven’t_ received? Easy. These things only go out from things you’ve signed up for. If you didn’t get an email you signed up for, you get it wrong. And, in my opinion, if you can’t take the time to look at your email and make sure you typed it right, then that’s your problem, and the rest of us shouldn’t have to support you. You shouldn’t even be typing out your email more than once per browser, anyways. What’s really annoying are the places that explicitly block autofill on that line. You know, the feature that makes the fact that nearly every site requires you to sign up not so painful. You know how you can accomplish chekcing for typoes? You’re going to have to send a confirmation email anyways, to make sure you’ve got a real email. So just use that as proof that I gave you the right address. Zero extra typing required. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/25 "2011-09-04T16:14:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You know how you can accomplish chekcing for typoes? You’re going to have to send a confirmation email anyways, to make sure you’ve got a real email. So just use that as proof that I gave you the right address. Zero extra typing required. Ah, but what if instead of [BigT@Straightdope.com](mailto:BigT@Straightdope.com), you accidentally use [BigY@Straightdope.com](mailto:BigY@Straightdope.com)… and there is actually a [BigY@Straightdope.com](mailto:BigY@Straightdope.com)? Then that won’t help because they still will find that they had a legitimate email address to send the confirmation email to. When whoever answers the [BigY@Straightdope.com](mailto:BigY@Straightdope.com) gets the email, they will most likely just delete it, at which point the company will likely assume you just weren’t interested, and will go on with their day performing no action to follow up. EDIT: Neat, I didn’t know emails autolinked like that. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/26 "2011-09-04T16:32:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And, in my opinion, if you can’t take the time to look at your email and make sure you typed it right, then that’s your problem, and the rest of us shouldn’t have to support you. who, exactly, are “the rest of us?” ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/27 "2011-09-04T16:40:39Z")
I can retype my email addy faster than I can c&p it. What gets me is having to deal with a freaking pull down menu instead of just typing my two letter state abbreviation. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/28 "2011-09-04T16:43:07Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I can retype my email addy faster than I can c&p it. What gets me is having to deal with a freaking pull down menu instead of just typing my two letter state abbreviation. you’d be surprised how many people get it wrong, e.g. typing “AK” for Arkansas or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/29 "2011-09-04T16:43:32Z")
I still think it’s a useful feature, like retyping your password, even if it were true that most people copy-paste, autofill. I always re-type instead of copy-paste. It’s nice for me. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/30 "2011-09-04T16:59:14Z")
Wait now. Where should I copy my email address from? I’m not in that screen and no where dose it exist that I can copy it from. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/31 "2011-09-04T17:12:10Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > who, exactly, are “the rest of us?” Duh, the American Taxpayers!😃 ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/32 "2011-09-04T17:29:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Easy. These things only go out from things you’ve signed up for. If you didn’t get an email you signed up for, you get it wrong. > > And, in my opinion, if you can’t take the time to look at your email and make sure you typed it right, then that’s your problem, and the rest of us shouldn’t have to support you. It’s not just for the benefit of people who might mistype their email address occasionally (which I suspect is a lot of people; probably more people than realize it). The main reason is the company doesn’t want to lose customers forever simply because of a typo. If you get your name or password it’s rectifiable; but if you get your only piece of contact information wrong, the company has no way to contact you again. They want to really ensure you get that information right, which is why there’s the duplicate boxes and why autofill, and even copy-and-paste, are often disabled for those boxes. And given that it only costs me a couple seconds of my time, and might benefit me as well occasionally, I don’t begrudge them doing it. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/33 "2011-09-04T18:32:09Z")
It doesn’t bother me at all, because I’m at an age where stupid little mistakes have become increasingly common. Step 1) I type in my address Step 2) I quickly check it for typo’s, copy, tab, paste, tab, enter. For no particular reason I may or may not use the mouse. Makes no difference to me, I just go without giving it a moment’s thought. Either way, the entire laboriously redundant process of Step 2 consumes about nine seconds of my precious time. . ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/34 "2011-09-04T18:46:40Z")
Not a big deal to me either and I am a copy-paster. But I think clicking a link in a confirmation email - provided just once - is more reliable. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/35 "2011-09-04T19:05:34Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I know that, but it’s outdated. People copy and paste, or autofill. It really needs to stop. I don’t; I retype it. It’s a short address, and I’ve typed it so many times that it’s quicker for me to retype than copy and paste. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/36 "2011-09-04T19:09:51Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Not a big deal to me either and I am a copy-paster. > > But I think clicking a link in a confirmation email - provided just once - is more reliable. But email is not reliable. There are a lot of things that can go wrong between the system sending the email and you receiving it. Many systems don’t even use an email link confirmation system. I can’t believe so many people copy/paste their email address from the initial box to the confirmation box. You’re defeating the purpose of a check system that is designed to help YOU. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/37 "2011-09-04T19:19:03Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > you’d be surprised how many people get it wrong, e.g. typing “AK” for Arkansas or something like that. You know, most pulldowns, you can tab to the pulldown and type in what you want it to say and it’ll automatically pull it down. As long as you’re typing in an option on the pulldown list, it’ll come up. > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > It doesn’t bother me at all, because I’m at an age where stupid little mistakes have become increasingly common. > > Step 1) I type in my address > > Step 2) I quickly check it for typo’s, copy, tab, paste, tab, enter. For no particular reason I may or may not use the mouse. Makes no difference to me, I just go without giving it a moment’s thought. > > Either way, the entire laboriously redundant process of Step 2 consumes about nine seconds of my precious time. > > . An average e-mail address probably has 20-25 characters. That shouldn’t take more than 2 or 3 seconds to type in. IMO the mouse is a huge time waster and use of it should be avoided whenever possible. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/38 "2011-09-04T19:27:36Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > An average e-mail address probably has 20-25 characters. That shouldn’t take more than 2 or 3 seconds to type in. > > IMO the mouse is a huge time waster and use of it should be avoided whenever possible. I’d double that at least. [Wikipedia suggests an average of 33 wpm](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Words_per_minute#Alphanumeric_entry), or roughly 165 cpm… with 22.5 characters average, it’d take 8.2 seconds. Factor in numbers, the @ symbol, and the period and it gets even longer. That’s not to say that the confirmation is a bad idea, but it does take time. The people who have trouble with forms are usually not fast typists, further exacerbating the issue. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/39 "2011-09-04T21:12:05Z")
If you copy and paste into the “Reenter…” field, it’s you making the mistake, not the website. The confirmation field is for our benefit, as a chance to weed out your typos. Autofill is a different story. If you’re competant as using autofills, however, stop kvetching – it’s taking you an extra half a second to reenter the email. If you’re registering so many new accounts that those extra half seconds are adding up to a major productivity delay, congratulations! You’re a spambot! ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148/40 "2011-09-04T21:43:53Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > At least two or three times, the form would not let me paste into an email address field. I had to manually type it. I’d say the majority of forms I fill out online are like this. So then you do have to type it out at least once even if you have autofill. I’ve typod my own email address often enough that I don’t mind it at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-enter-your-email-address-why/595148.md?page=3)