is email mandatory for password protected page?

I am making a site for personal use to get away from Facebook.

I find this wordpress application much harder than just doing code. It doesn’t allow for anything above the title which means you can’t change the page color and even if it is put into a block, the block deletes the color code.

I mean no offense but for me it’s like going from the real internet back into America Online ( for those of you who remember that ).

I set up a page with password protection and I noticed that it asks for an email address for anyone wanting to post on it. I am very big on privacy and am not looking to know anyone’s email address and feel it should be optional. Is there a way to turn it off and allow just the post? Can people post without adding an email address?

Also I wish one of you would make a blank black page that you can add tables, table colors and so on. I have no desire to do it myself.
Thank you very much.