Collaboration Accounts are created when two or more different users make an account and share its credentials (username and password), often to work jointly on a single project without having to remix.
 Warning: | Collaboration accounts (except for immediate family members) are not allowed and will be blocked by the Scratch Team.[1] |
| “ | While we know these accounts can be convenient, we’ve seen some problems with them as well. Because of this, the Scratch Team strongly discourages the use of shared accounts. | ” |
– Paddle2See, Scratch Team[2] | ||
Problems of Using Collaboration Accounts
This post explains why the Scratch Team disallows Collaboration Accounts. While such accounts can be quite helpful, they often pose many issues, especially pertaining to moderation.[3]
There is no official record of who did what on a collaboration account, and the Scratch Team does not hold any backup versions of projects, making the owner of the account liable for any changes that were made. There is also the risk of sharing contact information. Another user with access to the account can go into the Account Settings and see the owner's email.
The Scratch Team cannot know who is using the account at any given time. Therefore, the entire account is banned when it is used to break the Community Guidelines, bringing the possibility of accidentally blocking uninvolved users.
 Caution: | While collaboration and shared accounts do not need to be deleted, the Scratch Team requires that the owners convert it to a single account unless it is only shared between immediate family members. |
The Scratch Team requires that one user be designated the sole owner of the account (other than accounts shared by immediate family members). The person must change the account's password and email address to make it their own. Continually shared accounts may be blocked.[citation needed]
There are many ways for a user to participate in collaborations without using a shared account.
Remixing and Backpacking
Using remixes, backpacked content from another project, and building off of the project one section at a time is a good way to promote remixing among a group. Placing the remixes into a studio can help organize the collaboration better.
The Collaboration Forum
- Main article: Collaboration (forum)
Using the Collaboration forum can help people organize and plan the collaboration. This is a good way of publicly announcing your collaboration, and letting other scratchers get involved. The forum is also a good alternative to sharing private information or using an unmoderated chatroom, as users can talk with each other in a safe area.
Sharing on One Account
If the owner of the collaboration prefers to share the final project on one account, the user may permit one person to manage a single user account. Once the final project is able to be released, the user either downloads the project then uploads it as the official project, or remixes the final project and shares it.
Offline Editor
By using the Offline Editor, multiple editors can collaborate on one project by editing the project offline and sending it to each other.
FAQ
- Are all existing shared collaboration accounts going to be blocked?
No. If a shared collaboration account is found, the users of it will be asked to convert it to a single user account.
- What if someone wants to share an account with their family?
This is only ok for immediate family members (i.e. parents and siblings). If sharing a computer with someone, and especially if using the computer together, it would be okay to use the same account if preferred.[1]
- A teacher makes the students use only one account - is that okay?
No, this is not allowed.[1]
- Are you allowed to have a collaboration account on the Scratch Wiki?
Because the Scratch Wiki follows all Scratch rules, Scratch Wiki accounts cannot be shared.
See Also
References
- ↑ a b c post:4967646
- ↑ post:1791048
- ↑ Paddle2See. (14/2/2016). "We sometimes accidentally block people who weren’t even involved." topic:183361
