Gripe of the day

Why do sites require me to provide my birthday, my zip code, my email, my dog's name, my school's name, my roommate's name, my favorite color... Why? When will websites learn? Why is this information relevant to them?

I just today tried to sign up for Mashable. I don't even remember why. Here's what their sign up page looks like:



I tried ot leave a few of them blank and sign up. It didn't work. No I did not sign up thank you. My stupid old internet life is fine enough without sharing all my personal data with every tom, dick and harry.