Websites that can't correctly validate email addresses

frugal_mike

I'm sure this has been said before but it really does annoy me when website builders think they'll be helpful and validate email addresses for you, and then get it completely wrong!

RFC2822 spells out exactly what a valid email address can contain, and it's not just alpahnumeric characters and '.'!

Surely it can't be hard to find a RFC2822 compliant validator when building your website?

Rant over!

Azari

There are so many ridiculous faults and omissions from websites, some belonging to multi-million pound companies.

Examples:

1a) Cannot accept a CC or telephone number with spaces in it (and doesn't tell you).
1b) Cannot accept a CC or telephone number without spaces in it. (and doesn't tell you).
1c) Won't accept form because of 1a or 1b but doesn't tell you why.

2) As 1 but for postcodes

3) Does not place the cursor on the first field of a form.

4) Does not move cursor automatically when filling in fixed width fields.

5) Loses information in a form if there is an error.

6) Prevents you using the back button and does not provide a way back in its place.

7) Makes you fill in a whole raft of personal information before telling you shipping costs.


Plus a load more and I'm sure other can add annoyances, as well.

MothballsWallet

Got another one:

8a) Asks how you want to be contacted (email or phone)
8b) Insists on a phone number and/or time to call when you select "email"

frugal_mike

Whenever websites ask for phone numbers and I don't want to give it I just put N/A, or if it insists on numbers then just all 0's.

j0nathon2

Because they're built by expensive, incompetent developers usually! (I am cheap and good by the way!)

I like to use mygmail+company@gmail.com so I can either label or see who's selling my email address. Most sites are fine, but you get many that don't accept it, a recent example was MoneySuperMarket it wouldn't allow the +, and it didn't explicitly say what was wrong, other than the email was invalid.

Esqui

Or the worst. After entering a secure password:


"Invalid password. Your password cannot contain any spaces or special characters".


"password1" it is again, then....

frugal_mike

Esqui wrote: »

Or the worst. After entering a secure password:


"Invalid password. Your password cannot contain any spaces or special characters".


"password1" it is again, then....

And then they send you an email with your username and password in it, just in case you forgot...

mynameisclare

My surname has an apostrophe, and you would not believe the number of websites that won't accept it. Or sometimes it seems ok but then the address label arrives totally garbled.

So annoying, it's not like it's that uncommon!

JohalaReewi

frugal_mike wrote: »

Surely it can't be hard to find a RFC2822 compliant validator when building your website?

Not just websites. many email servers don't handle valid email addresses (try using ! characters in an email address).

Chickabiddybex

I wish our website would fix postcodes when customers don't know the difference between a O and a 0
It's so annoying because our courier's system DOES know the difference and won't book their delivery properly.

How can you not know the difference between a letter and a number?

WTFH

I wish people weren't as stupid and lazy as they are, then the computer programs could do the work they were designed to do.