PASSPORT.COM v GMAIL scandal

Yes, I can confirm it is true.  Microsoft's passport.com will not accept an @gmail.com address when registering, despite their declaration that "you can use any existing e-mail address from any e-mail provider when you create your credentials for Windows Live ID"

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So, I enter my gmail address and I see....

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AND, The site will not accept my (admittedly strong) pass phrase which is 26 characters.  The site will not accept more than 16 characters.

But it gets worse.  The site does not allow the characters that I did manage to type (which consisted only of letters and spaces)... I hope you'll forgive me for removing my (private) gmail address:

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Ok, so I click on the "What characters are allowed?" hyperlink, and what do I see?

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I finally managed to get the relevant Help content to load, and what do I see?  I ask you, can you see *anything* related to "what characters are allowed" in the proffered content?

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You know what? This really sucks...  What the hell is the use of a long CAPTCHA if you're going to lock out gmail and restrict password complexity?

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Published Sun, Nov 11 2007 19:26 by sandi
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Comments

# re: PASSPORT.COM v GMAIL scandal

Sunday, November 11, 2007 7:24 AM by Ian Oxley (UK)

Hi Sandi.

In the UK, we have to use @googlemail.com as you probably know.  

We can still accept incoming mail to @gmail.com, so can give out a nicer sounding gmail address which works, but officially a UK gmail address ends in @googlemail.com.   I'm sure you know all this!   Anyway, the point is that I have just tried and managed to use {myaddress}@googlemail.com as a passport id.

It occurs to me that you might also be able to use @googlemail.com interchangeably with @gmail, for this purpose.

Intriguing, no?  

# re: PASSPORT.COM v GMAIL scandal

Monday, November 12, 2007 4:51 PM by Robert McMillan

Hey Sandi,

I just signed up using a gmail.com address. No error message. So I guess it works some of the time.

Bob

# re: PASSPORT.COM v GMAIL scandal

Saturday, May 24, 2008 4:51 PM by Andrew Hill

I try to respond to craglist and a box pop up loginnet.pasport.com and ask me for my microsoft pasport user name and pass word.how do I get past this? or make a new user name and pass word?

# re: PASSPORT.COM v GMAIL scandal

Thursday, July 24, 2008 7:16 PM by Carlos

I try to respond to a Craig list ad, loginnet passport pops up,

I fill up  user name and password, I click ok and windows hotmail page pops up telling me "Windows hotmail wasn't able to complete this request"..........Why?.

I open a different account..... .same thing.

I open a Gmail account and when I try to respond to and ad in CL

it directs me to loginnet passpot.....Why?

Can somebody help me?