CGI Help Needed

[Paul Gresham]

Hi All,
I have plenty of experience of programming, networks etc, but when it comes
to Brower/Web server protocols I'm pretty lost. I have to set up a
subscriber database, and wish to do so using Python. I can do everything I
need to, I even have Python working on my server as a CGI, it was a breeze
to get working. I can capture input to a form, parse and store it, I can
modify the data via the browser, etc, etc. My question is probably not
Python specific, but as we are by our Pythonness, enlightened programmers, I
thought I'd ask here first.

What is the normal and respected method of User authentication on a web
site, how should I present a login box when the user is not authenticated
already, and how do I maintain a session with an authenticated user, without
using cookies, allowing them to continue surfing around the web site ?

Answers or pointers to relevant information will be most appreciated

Paul Gresham
** Please do not Spam, I have no egg and chips **