You're conflating the analogy with what the analogy was about. They didn't say that ten years of browser history was needed for automatic login.
Privacy and usability actually are orthogonal, as the cookie and login issue shows. You will see this again and again in almost every service. People can't offer loans without knowing credit history. Games can't do balanced matchmaking systems without learning about your level of skill. A website can't send you emails unless you give them your email. I could go on, but I think you are upset enough with Facebook that you won't get the point.
Sorry to be "that guy", but just responding because I was confused by your post and the parent's post, because you are both using "orthogonal" to mean the opposite of what it actually means. If two things are orthogonal, it means they are independent of each other, i.e. changing one has no effect on the other.
Privacy and usability actually are orthogonal, as the cookie and login issue shows. You will see this again and again in almost every service. People can't offer loans without knowing credit history. Games can't do balanced matchmaking systems without learning about your level of skill. A website can't send you emails unless you give them your email. I could go on, but I think you are upset enough with Facebook that you won't get the point.