[Sigia-l] Obscuring passwords, or not...

[Austin Govella]

A while back on someone's blog (maybe Christina Wodke's?), it was 
mentioned that perhaps you may not always have to obscure a password as 
it's entered.

Typically forms use the password input which displays an asterix or dot 
as the user enters the password. This is done so that no one can look 
over their shoulder and discover the user's password.

Sometimes this is a usability problem: you can't determine whether 
you've correctly entered your password at a glance.

If you expect your user to log in from the privacy of their own home, 
and there is no confidential data accessible once logged in, does it 
seem reasonable to not obscure the password?

The users are expected to be middle-aged women with varying educational 
and cultural backgrounds, as well as varied levels of computer literacy.

Thanks,
--
Austin