- "User Block" redirects here. For the feature this one replaced, see User ID (block).
| Username | |
username | |
| Category | Sensing |
| Type | Reporter |
| Introduced in | 2.0 |
The Username block is a sensing block and a reporter block. It reports the username of the user viewing the project, which can be used for saving progress in a project, either with a variable encoder or cloud lists (once they are released with string-storage capabilities), as well as other purposes. If a user is not signed in, this block returns the empty string.
Controversy
Originally, the Scratch Team was reluctant to add this block because it could compromise users' privacy. They started with the User ID block, which gave an anonymous but effective way of recognizing users for a specific project.[1] However, they eventually decided to replace it with this block because it is easier for beginners to understand and was so frequently requested.[citation needed]
All projects that contain the username block will notify the user playing the project of it. However, it is possible to play a project anonymously by signing out before using it, although this means that some features such as cloud data will not be available. There used to be a bug which caused the message to appear if the backpack had a script with the username block inside it, even if the project did not contain the username block.[2]
Potential Abuses
There are potential abuses of this block, such as hiding content (or selectively showing disrespectful/inappropriate content) to certain users. If a user finds a project containing a potential abuse of this block, they should report the project.
Example Uses
- Greeting a user who visits a project
say (join [Hi, ] (username))
- Checking if the user has visited before, using cloud data. Cloud lists are not an official feature in Scratch, but they are often simulated with numerical encoding.
if <not <[☁ visitors v] contains (username)>> then add (username) to [☁ visitors v] say (join[Hi,](join(username)[!])) else say (join[Welcome back again, ](join(username)[!])) end
- Checking if the viewer is logged in
when green flag clicked if <(username) = []> then//a logged off user reports a blank response say [Hi, new user!] for (2) secs
when gf clicked
set [chars v] to [� !"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~0123456789
set [item v] to (1)
repeat (length of(chars::variables))
add (letter (item) of (chars::variables)) to [chars v]
change [item v] by [1]
end
decode::custom
if <<not <(username) = []>>and<not<[users v] contains (username)?>>> then //checks if the user is logged in to Scratch and not in the leaderboard
add (username) to [users v]
add [0] to [scores v] //in which "0" is the initial score
encode::custom
end
forever
decode::custom
if <[users v] contains (username)> then //checks if the user has been added to the leaderboard already
set [i v] to [1] //begin with the first list item
repeat until <(item (i) of [users v]) = (username)> //the deletion process
change [i v] by (1)
end
delete (i) of [users v]
delete (i) of [scores v]
set [i v] to [1]
repeat until <<(i) > (length of [scores v])> or <(score) > (item (i) of [scores v])>> //the variable "score" is the latest score of the user
change [i v] by (1) //it will end at the proper list location
end
insert (username) at (i) of [users v]
insert (score) at (i) of [scores v]
encode::custom
end
- Creating a VIP system
when gf clicked if <[VIPs v] contains (username)> then say [You are an VIP] set [Is VIP? v] to [y] else say [Sadly, you are not a VIP] set [Is VIP? v] to [n]
See Also
- User ID — this block's predecessor
