def validate_password(password):
    """Validates a password

    Notes
    -----
    The valid characters for a password are:

        * lowercase letters
        * uppercase letters
        * numbers
        * special characters (e.g., !@#$%^&*()-_=+`~[]{}|;:'",<.>/?) with the
            exception of a backslash
        * must be ASCII
        * no spaces
        * must be at least 8 characters

    Parameters
    ----------
    password: str
        Password to validate

    Returns
    -------
    bool
        Whether or not the password is valid

    References
    -----
    http://stackoverflow.com/q/196345
    """
    if len(password) < 8:
        return False

    if "\\" in password or " " in password:
        return False

    try:
        password.encode('ascii')
    except UnicodeError:
        return False

    return True