I think it is fine for 'the web' if we are talking about HTML in general, however I don't think it works as well as it could for mouse/keyboard devices. It's really designed for touch. I'd like it to be more responsive. It should adapt better for laptop/desktop systems. Smaller hit targets, more use of keyboard centric controls, etc.

I'm afraid Passport is my answer too. For tiered access I just add a check at each route to see what role is required. Perhaps it would help if the original poster would explain why he doesn't want to use Passport.

I used to play a lot of games, paint, do origami, and some rollerblading. Now my hobby is having a 4yr old. (and my day job. and my night job. and...)

Yes, the hype machine got into full gear a few years ago and tried to say Node was the answer to everything. But that happens with every technology that gets big. Node does solve a certain class of problems, namely streaming blocking IO, very very well. Things that would have taken hundreds of lines of C code can be turned into 10 lines of Node. For a certain class of problems is really is a silver bullet. Just don't try to shoot things that aren't blocking io werewolves.

I like to think of it this way: The CTO makes sure the company builds the right thing. The VP of Engineering make sure the company builds the thing right.