Does anyone use Email Addresses as Usernames?

Question

We currently use First.Last format usernames but struggle with folks CONSTANTLY forgetting their usernames… and without those, they cant even use the Forgot your password option.

Ive been asked to explore using the learners email address as their Username (they shoudnt forget it, they would all be unique).  But I want to better understand if there are implications that render this not a viable option.

I have already thought of:

* Internal Brightspace mail uses username for their brightspace email (ie: John@hotmail.com@brightspace.com is invalid) BUT we have deactivated internal mail
*  Privacy if the username appears anywhere (as it is their email) but I dont see Usernames anywhere visible.  Only Preferred First name and Preffered Last name in places like Discussion Forums, Classlists. etc.

Hoping to find folks who can say "we absolutely do that and have no concerns" or "ABSOLUTELY NOT for the following concrete reasons!

Fingers crossed.

Mohit.B.878 · Answer

Hello @Christopher.S.4280

My name is Mohit and I am member of the product team, I reviewed the case and the response that was shared. It appears that using an email address as the username is not considered a best practice.

There are several areas within Brightspace that may not function correctly with this setup. For example, tools that allow editing of user data may block this behavior or encounter issues when attempting to update usernames in this format. Additionally, any areas of the system that display user information or handle email communications could be impacted.

It is also important to note that the list of affected areas may change from release to release. As updates are made, any functionality that relies on or displays the username could potentially be affected when using email addresses in this way.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Best Regards,

Mohit Bhargav

Christopher.S.4280 · Answer

Hi @Kelly.R.560!

I know this post was from over a year ago, but just wondering what you ended up doing and what kind of feedback you got regarding this! I'm also trying to consider what I might be forgetting as far as why using the user's email as their Brightspace user name could be a bad idea 😂 thanks!

Chris

Kelly.R.560 · Answer

Thanks for the update Pulkit.  My hope was to also seek input and feedback from users currently using this practice.