1) Breaks password managers and broswers' save password function. Many users are helpless without these.
2) You know how your browser helpfully remembers and fills in your name and address across different websites? Yeah, now it'll fill in your username and password too, making it accessible via javascript to any site that wants it. Since the password isn't in a password field, the browser doesn't know to restrict it to the original site.
1) Breaks password managers and broswers' save password function. Many users are helpless without these.
2) You know how your browser helpfully remembers and fills in your name and address across different websites? Yeah, now it'll fill in your username and password too, making it accessible via javascript to any site that wants it. Since the password isn't in a password field, the browser doesn't know to restrict it to the original site.
For an example of using javascript to get this kind of information, see Jeremiah Grossman's blog: http://jeremiahgrossman.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-know-who-your...