sub is_valid_password {
    my $auth = shift;
    my($author, $pass, $crypted, $error_ref) = @_;
    $pass ||= '';

    my $real_pass = $author->column('password');
    if ((!$real_pass) || ($real_pass eq '(none)')) {
        return 0;
    }
    return $crypted ? $real_pass eq $pass :
                      crypt($pass, $real_pass) eq $real_pass;
}