Andy Chase

One huge peeve of mine is the addition of JavaScript that uses the body onload event to trigger a focus() call to put the cursor into the login field.

I know it’s well intentioned, and probably works fine for all those fortunate enough to have broadband access.

If you’re stuck with dial-up, however, you often find yourself filling out a login form while you wait for the rest of the page to load. I can tell you from repeated experience that it is DAMN annoying to be halfway through entering your password, only to have your cursor picked up and dropped back in the username field.

Why not spruce up that ‘onload’ call to first check and see whether the the username field is empty? If yes, by all means focus on it. If no, assume somebody’s already filled it in.