account signup fields

> Hi everyone,
>
> We're debating which squeakland.org account fields to include when  
> people sign up for a showcase account.   Such signup could occur  
> within Etoys itself ("create an account, it's free!") or on the  
> website itself.
>
> Some constraints that have come up in the current conversation:
>
> 1) we want to limit the fields within Etoys because of vertical  
> space limitations in the dialog box
>
> 2) we want to limit the mandatory fields to allow quicker signup
>
> 3) we want to assure that private information from children remains  
> private (last name, other descriptive stuff, perhaps photos)
>
>
> Here's the central issue at hand, from my perspective . . .
>
> Signup is the key moment for Squeakland and Etoys from a community-
> building, user research, and publicity standpoint.
>
> It's the time when we'll get the largest number of people to:
>
> 1. subscribe to our newsletter
>
> 2. tell us about themselves (where they live, how they're using  
> etoys, etc)
>
> 3. allow us to later email them questionnaires or announcements  
> (squeakfest), etc.
>
>
> The vast majority of people that signup for a showcase account WILL  
> NOT join the forums, or separately subscribe to the newsletter, or  
> visit the chat channel, or join a mailing list.
>
> The people that will do these things should be considered  
> "enthusiasts", and hence, people that we really don't need to  
> convince ("preaching to the choir").
>
> We could allow people to come back to their profile page and add  
> this stuff, but MOST won't.  Only enthusiasts, people we don't need  
> to convince.
>
>
> Imagine hundreds of people who are mildly curious . . . the signup  
> to check out their daughter's project on the showcase, which is  
> otherwise hidden.   They're intrigued enough to download Etoys.    
> Like MOST PEOPLE, they go to sleep and forget all about it for  
> months.   Then comes our quarterly newsletter, and they read a cool  
> story about Uruguay.   The open up Etoys again and start playing  
> around again.  Maybe this time they'll stick with it.
>
> This is the essence of publicity and marketing . . . the drumbeat,  
> the heartbeat, of our own activity, reminding people we're still  
> here and doing great stuff.
>
>
> So that said, here's the fields we're considering:
>
> * username
> * password (twice)
> * email address
>
> These are the bare minimum, and the only required fields.
>
> More fields:
>
> * first name
> * last name
> * tell us about yourself
>
> These are currently on the newsletter subscribe form.   Currently,  
> none of this collected information appears on the website.  We can  
> keep these fields private in account profiles as well, to protect  
> children.  Nearly everyone who signs up for the newsletter writes a  
> very useful description about their location, interest in Etoys,  
> affiliated organization, etc.   We have hundreds of these comments,  
> which is invaluable for our community-building work.    I'm strongly  
> in favor of keeping the "tell us about yourself" field and not  
> showing it unless explicit permission is given.
>
> * checkbox for newsletter
> * checkbox for general announcements
> * checkbox for weekly showcase highlights
>
> We want as many YES's for all three as we can get.   More YESes mean  
> more audience.   People can always opt-out from any mailing, but  
> it's in our best interest to at least ask them for a YES.
>
> To keep the in-Etoys box short, we could leave these out, but the  
> question remains . . . what's the default?   If all NO's, then we  
> lose a major source of people who would otherwise have said YES.
>
> (I know that most of us have grown accustomed to always saying NO to  
> such forms, but in our case, with our worldwide enthusiastic  
> audience, it's more likely people will say yes, than no.)
>
>
> Other fields we could add by flipping a switch:
>
> * organization
> * address
> * address_two
> * city
> * state
> * zip/postal code
> * country
> * time zone
> * home phone
> * work phone
> * want my friends to see my friends
> * show my first/last name to public
> * show my friend list to public
> * photo/avatar
>
>
> The address fields were used for squeakfest registration, but likely  
> shouldn't appear in showcase accounts, except perhaps for country.    
> Likewise with the phones . . . we shouldn't ask.
>
> The last three are things we could add to the profile, defaulting to  
> the most private settings.   The underlying software has much of the  
> functionality of sites like Facebook, etc.   My current plan is to  
> allow people and groups to "friend" other people, which will allow  
> them to see their private Etoys projects.  Such a thing happens when  
> you "tell a friend" and include a message that's email to someone,  
> which is a great way to build community.
>
>
> Lastly, we have full questionnaire support as well, so we can add  
> any questions we want, though only to the web profile.   Again, most  
> people won't go back to fill out their profile, but we *can* send an  
> announcement saying "Tell us more about yourself, fill out this  
> quick questionnaire", but only if someone has said YES to general  
> announcements.
>
> Anyway, let me know what you think about all this.  We want this to  
> be a community conversation.
>
> Take care,
> TIm
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> squeakland mailing list
> [hidden email]
> http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland

> My personal opinion on all this:
>
> Within Etoys:
>
> * username
> * password (twice)
> * email address
> * send me Squeakland's quarterly newsletter
> * send me weekly showcase highlights
>
> (general announcements = either newsletter or showcase box checked)
>
>
> On the web signup page:
>
> (all of the above)
>
> * tell us about yourself
> * first name
> * last name
> * country
> * want friends see friends
> * public first/last name
> * public friend list
>
>
> The only one I'm not sure about is "country", which might be good  
> within Etoys also.
>
>
> On Sep 8, 2009, at 9:48 AM, Timothy Falconer wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> We're debating which squeakland.org account fields to include when  
>> people sign up for a showcase account.   Such signup could occur  
>> within Etoys itself ("create an account, it's free!") or on the  
>> website itself.
>>
>> Some constraints that have come up in the current conversation:
>>
>> 1) we want to limit the fields within Etoys because of vertical  
>> space limitations in the dialog box
>>
>> 2) we want to limit the mandatory fields to allow quicker signup
>>
>> 3) we want to assure that private information from children remains  
>> private (last name, other descriptive stuff, perhaps photos)
>>
>>
>> Here's the central issue at hand, from my perspective . . .
>>
>> Signup is the key moment for Squeakland and Etoys from a community-
>> building, user research, and publicity standpoint.
>>
>> It's the time when we'll get the largest number of people to:
>>
>> 1. subscribe to our newsletter
>>
>> 2. tell us about themselves (where they live, how they're using  
>> etoys, etc)
>>
>> 3. allow us to later email them questionnaires or announcements  
>> (squeakfest), etc.
>>
>>
>> The vast majority of people that signup for a showcase account WILL  
>> NOT join the forums, or separately subscribe to the newsletter, or  
>> visit the chat channel, or join a mailing list.
>>
>> The people that will do these things should be considered  
>> "enthusiasts", and hence, people that we really don't need to  
>> convince ("preaching to the choir").
>>
>> We could allow people to come back to their profile page and add  
>> this stuff, but MOST won't.  Only enthusiasts, people we don't need  
>> to convince.
>>
>>
>> Imagine hundreds of people who are mildly curious . . . the signup  
>> to check out their daughter's project on the showcase, which is  
>> otherwise hidden.   They're intrigued enough to download Etoys.    
>> Like MOST PEOPLE, they go to sleep and forget all about it for  
>> months.   Then comes our quarterly newsletter, and they read a cool  
>> story about Uruguay.   The open up Etoys again and start playing  
>> around again.  Maybe this time they'll stick with it.
>>
>> This is the essence of publicity and marketing . . . the drumbeat,  
>> the heartbeat, of our own activity, reminding people we're still  
>> here and doing great stuff.
>>
>>
>> So that said, here's the fields we're considering:
>>
>> * username
>> * password (twice)
>> * email address
>>
>> These are the bare minimum, and the only required fields.
>>
>> More fields:
>>
>> * first name
>> * last name
>> * tell us about yourself
>>
>> These are currently on the newsletter subscribe form.   Currently,  
>> none of this collected information appears on the website.  We can  
>> keep these fields private in account profiles as well, to protect  
>> children.  Nearly everyone who signs up for the newsletter writes a  
>> very useful description about their location, interest in Etoys,  
>> affiliated organization, etc.   We have hundreds of these comments,  
>> which is invaluable for our community-building work.    I'm  
>> strongly in favor of keeping the "tell us about yourself" field and  
>> not showing it unless explicit permission is given.
>>
>> * checkbox for newsletter
>> * checkbox for general announcements
>> * checkbox for weekly showcase highlights
>>
>> We want as many YES's for all three as we can get.   More YESes  
>> mean more audience.   People can always opt-out from any mailing,  
>> but it's in our best interest to at least ask them for a YES.
>>
>> To keep the in-Etoys box short, we could leave these out, but the  
>> question remains . . . what's the default?   If all NO's, then we  
>> lose a major source of people who would otherwise have said YES.
>>
>> (I know that most of us have grown accustomed to always saying NO  
>> to such forms, but in our case, with our worldwide enthusiastic  
>> audience, it's more likely people will say yes, than no.)
>>
>>
>> Other fields we could add by flipping a switch:
>>
>> * organization
>> * address
>> * address_two
>> * city
>> * state
>> * zip/postal code
>> * country
>> * time zone
>> * home phone
>> * work phone
>> * want my friends to see my friends
>> * show my first/last name to public
>> * show my friend list to public
>> * photo/avatar
>>
>>
>> The address fields were used for squeakfest registration, but  
>> likely shouldn't appear in showcase accounts, except perhaps for  
>> country.   Likewise with the phones . . . we shouldn't ask.
>>
>> The last three are things we could add to the profile, defaulting  
>> to the most private settings.   The underlying software has much of  
>> the functionality of sites like Facebook, etc.   My current plan is  
>> to allow people and groups to "friend" other people, which will  
>> allow them to see their private Etoys projects.  Such a thing  
>> happens when you "tell a friend" and include a message that's email  
>> to someone, which is a great way to build community.
>>
>>
>> Lastly, we have full questionnaire support as well, so we can add  
>> any questions we want, though only to the web profile.   Again,  
>> most people won't go back to fill out their profile, but we *can*  
>> send an announcement saying "Tell us more about yourself, fill out  
>> this quick questionnaire", but only if someone has said YES to  
>> general announcements.
>>
>> Anyway, let me know what you think about all this.  We want this to  
>> be a community conversation.
>>
>> Take care,
>> TIm
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> squeakland mailing list
>> [hidden email]
>> http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland
>

> Summarized:
>
> 1. Scratch requires an email address for all signups
>
> 2. Scratch doesn't give you an option to opt-out of emails in the  
> signup or website (i assume they do in mailings)
>
> 3. Scratch requires a birth month & year, and switches the field  
> label from "Email" to "Parent or guardian's Email" if too young
>
> Anyone with problems with doing things exactly like this?   (though  
> I'd still keep the "newsletter" and "weekly highlights" checkboxes.
>
>
>
>
> On Sep 8, 2009, at 12:13 PM, Timothy Falconer wrote:
>
>> Looks like we need a link from within the Etoys signup box to the  
>> privacy policy on the website.
>>
>> Someone should also think long and hard about this:
>>
>> http://www.coppa.org/comply.htm
>>
>> "The notice to parents must contain the same information included  
>> on the notice on the Web site. In addition, an operator must notify  
>> a parent that it wishes to collect personal information from the  
>> child; that the parent's consent is required for the collection,  
>> use and disclosure of the information; and how the parent can  
>> provide consent."
>>
>> "Before collecting, using or disclosing personal information from a  
>> child, an operator must obtain verifiable parental consent from the  
>> child's parent. This means an operator must make reasonable efforts  
>> (taking into consideration available technology) to ensure that  
>> before personal information is collected from a child, a parent of  
>> the child receives notice of the operator's information practices  
>> and consents to those practices."
>>
>>
>> We're not planning on disclosing any of this information, but it  
>> seems to be saying here that we need proof of a parent's permission  
>> before the email address is collected.
>>
>> Scratch requires:  birth date, email, gender, and country, with  
>> optional state/prov, and city.
>>
>> If you put in a birth date that's less than 13 years old, it  
>> switches the label from "email" to "email address of parent or  
>> guardian".
>>
>> http://scratch.mit.edu/signup
>>
>> Scratch's privacy policy is explicit:
>>
>> ----
>>
>> When you register for an account on the website, we ask for some  
>> information. The only required information is your username,  
>> password, gender, country and your month and year of birth.
>>
>> We also ask for your city and state or province, but this  
>> information is optional. We do not ask for your name, phone number,  
>> or home address.
>>
>> If you are 13 or over, we ask for your email address so that we can  
>> tell you when there are important changes or new features in  
>> Scratch. However, you do not have to give us your email address to  
>> use either Scratch or the Scratch website. If you are under 13, we  
>> do not collect your email address.
>>
>> We do not make any of your profile information public on the  
>> website, except your username and country.
>>
>> ----
>>
>> It doesn't come right out and say it, but email address (yours or  
>> your parents) *IS* required, if you want to post projects to the  
>> scratch website.  (They actually seem to contradict this.)
>>
>>
>> On Sep 8, 2009, at 10:06 AM, Timothy Falconer wrote:
>>
>>> My personal opinion on all this:
>>>
>>> Within Etoys:
>>>
>>> * username
>>> * password (twice)
>>> * email address
>>> * send me Squeakland's quarterly newsletter
>>> * send me weekly showcase highlights
>>>
>>> (general announcements = either newsletter or showcase box checked)
>>>
>>>
>>> On the web signup page:
>>>
>>> (all of the above)
>>>
>>> * tell us about yourself
>>> * first name
>>> * last name
>>> * country
>>> * want friends see friends
>>> * public first/last name
>>> * public friend list
>>>
>>>
>>> The only one I'm not sure about is "country", which might be good  
>>> within Etoys also.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sep 8, 2009, at 9:48 AM, Timothy Falconer wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>>
>>>> We're debating which squeakland.org account fields to include  
>>>> when people sign up for a showcase account.   Such signup could  
>>>> occur within Etoys itself ("create an account, it's free!") or on  
>>>> the website itself.
>>>>
>>>> Some constraints that have come up in the current conversation:
>>>>
>>>> 1) we want to limit the fields within Etoys because of vertical  
>>>> space limitations in the dialog box
>>>>
>>>> 2) we want to limit the mandatory fields to allow quicker signup
>>>>
>>>> 3) we want to assure that private information from children  
>>>> remains private (last name, other descriptive stuff, perhaps  
>>>> photos)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Here's the central issue at hand, from my perspective . . .
>>>>
>>>> Signup is the key moment for Squeakland and Etoys from a  
>>>> community-building, user research, and publicity standpoint.
>>>>
>>>> It's the time when we'll get the largest number of people to:
>>>>
>>>> 1. subscribe to our newsletter
>>>>
>>>> 2. tell us about themselves (where they live, how they're using  
>>>> etoys, etc)
>>>>
>>>> 3. allow us to later email them questionnaires or announcements  
>>>> (squeakfest), etc.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The vast majority of people that signup for a showcase account  
>>>> WILL NOT join the forums, or separately subscribe to the  
>>>> newsletter, or visit the chat channel, or join a mailing list.
>>>>
>>>> The people that will do these things should be considered  
>>>> "enthusiasts", and hence, people that we really don't need to  
>>>> convince ("preaching to the choir").
>>>>
>>>> We could allow people to come back to their profile page and add  
>>>> this stuff, but MOST won't.  Only enthusiasts, people we don't  
>>>> need to convince.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Imagine hundreds of people who are mildly curious . . . the  
>>>> signup to check out their daughter's project on the showcase,  
>>>> which is otherwise hidden.   They're intrigued enough to download  
>>>> Etoys.   Like MOST PEOPLE, they go to sleep and forget all about  
>>>> it for months.   Then comes our quarterly newsletter, and they  
>>>> read a cool story about Uruguay.   The open up Etoys again and  
>>>> start playing around again.  Maybe this time they'll stick with it.
>>>>
>>>> This is the essence of publicity and marketing . . . the  
>>>> drumbeat, the heartbeat, of our own activity, reminding people  
>>>> we're still here and doing great stuff.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> So that said, here's the fields we're considering:
>>>>
>>>> * username
>>>> * password (twice)
>>>> * email address
>>>>
>>>> These are the bare minimum, and the only required fields.
>>>>
>>>> More fields:
>>>>
>>>> * first name
>>>> * last name
>>>> * tell us about yourself
>>>>
>>>> These are currently on the newsletter subscribe form.    
>>>> Currently, none of this collected information appears on the  
>>>> website.  We can keep these fields private in account profiles as  
>>>> well, to protect children.  Nearly everyone who signs up for the  
>>>> newsletter writes a very useful description about their location,  
>>>> interest in Etoys, affiliated organization, etc.   We have  
>>>> hundreds of these comments, which is invaluable for our community-
>>>> building work.    I'm strongly in favor of keeping the "tell us  
>>>> about yourself" field and not showing it unless explicit  
>>>> permission is given.
>>>>
>>>> * checkbox for newsletter
>>>> * checkbox for general announcements
>>>> * checkbox for weekly showcase highlights
>>>>
>>>> We want as many YES's for all three as we can get.   More YESes  
>>>> mean more audience.   People can always opt-out from any mailing,  
>>>> but it's in our best interest to at least ask them for a YES.
>>>>
>>>> To keep the in-Etoys box short, we could leave these out, but the  
>>>> question remains . . . what's the default?   If all NO's, then we  
>>>> lose a major source of people who would otherwise have said YES.
>>>>
>>>> (I know that most of us have grown accustomed to always saying NO  
>>>> to such forms, but in our case, with our worldwide enthusiastic  
>>>> audience, it's more likely people will say yes, than no.)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Other fields we could add by flipping a switch:
>>>>
>>>> * organization
>>>> * address
>>>> * address_two
>>>> * city
>>>> * state
>>>> * zip/postal code
>>>> * country
>>>> * time zone
>>>> * home phone
>>>> * work phone
>>>> * want my friends to see my friends
>>>> * show my first/last name to public
>>>> * show my friend list to public
>>>> * photo/avatar
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The address fields were used for squeakfest registration, but  
>>>> likely shouldn't appear in showcase accounts, except perhaps for  
>>>> country.   Likewise with the phones . . . we shouldn't ask.
>>>>
>>>> The last three are things we could add to the profile, defaulting  
>>>> to the most private settings.   The underlying software has much  
>>>> of the functionality of sites like Facebook, etc.   My current  
>>>> plan is to allow people and groups to "friend" other people,  
>>>> which will allow them to see their private Etoys projects.  Such  
>>>> a thing happens when you "tell a friend" and include a message  
>>>> that's email to someone, which is a great way to build community.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Lastly, we have full questionnaire support as well, so we can add  
>>>> any questions we want, though only to the web profile.   Again,  
>>>> most people won't go back to fill out their profile, but we *can*  
>>>> send an announcement saying "Tell us more about yourself, fill  
>>>> out this quick questionnaire", but only if someone has said YES  
>>>> to general announcements.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway, let me know what you think about all this.  We want this  
>>>> to be a community conversation.
>>>>
>>>> Take care,
>>>> TIm
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> squeakland mailing list
>>>> [hidden email]
>>>> http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/squeakland
>>>
>>
>
> --
> Timothy Falconer
> Waveplace Foundation
> http://waveplace.com
> 610-797-3100
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> etoys-dev mailing list
> [hidden email]
> http://lists.squeakland.org/mailman/listinfo/etoys-dev