Flickr owner Yahoo has decided to phase out the separate login for the popular photo sharing site, instead opting to use its own system. While the search engine says the change is intended to make it easier for Yahoo to integrate Flickr into other services, some diehard users just aren't having it.

Yahoo further justifies its decision by mentioning the fact that only one out of every 20 users still uses a non-Yahoo ID. The company originally intended to support both authentication options when it acquired Flickr in March 2005, but changed that policy later in the year.

"We're making this change now to simplify the sign in process in advance of several large projects launching this year," Yahoo explained in an alert to Flickr users.

That won't be a problem for many. Most users have since adopted the Yahoo ID login process. However, a small but vocal minority refuses to do so. Some of the holdouts hold several Flickr accounts, and under the new policy, they would be required to register for a separate Yahoo account to access each account.

Over 1,366 replies have since been posted to a Flickr Forum topic asking for comments on the move, many of them have been negative.

"Flickr and Yahoo could and should grandfather people into their system who have been here for a while and created the reason that Flickr even got bought in the first place," a user who used the handle 'girltim' complained.

"The experimental, alternative vibe it had in the days before Yahoo is long gone," user 'flickrthrope' lamented. "It's been a slow death, one accomplished through a thousand cuts. So it's on to pastures new."

Yahoo has remained fairly tight-lipped in responding to criticisms, only offering that the changes simplified the sign-in process, and the company would continue to focus on innovation and new functionality for the site.