" but gmail as a single source of failure makes me nervous. Using any email provider besides gmail makes me even more nervous, because they don't have the full power and knowledge of Google protecting their databases. "
Good Practice: Never use gmail for registrations. If you get locked out, that's it. Good luck trying to call google.
Am people have gotten locked out or their gmail accounts been closed. I myself was not able to log into one of my gmail accounts and I had to reset a PW for a domain register that was about to expire. I was able to log in and save it since I managed to boot up an old laptop with a corrupted had drive for a few minutes. The Browser must have had a cockie associated with this gmail account.
Good Practice: Never use gmail for registrations. If you get locked out, that's it. Good luck trying to call google.
Am people have gotten locked out or their gmail accounts been closed. I myself was not able to log into one of my gmail accounts and I had to reset a PW for a domain register that was about to expire. I was able to log in and save it since I managed to boot up an old laptop with a corrupted had drive for a few minutes. The Browser must have had a cockie associated with this gmail account.