Global User Accounts (In a website)

[jmkogut]

I'm playing with migrating my (mostly) procedural code to a framework like CakePHP, just for fun, and to get a better grasp of MVC. In this framework, I'm currently building small applications, like a pastebin, forums, community system (like MySpace), etc. These all allow user's to login, and personalize the application via a simple control panel. My question is: should these user accounts be global (meaning that if a user signs up for the MySpace clone, then he/she will also have the account usable in the pastebin, forums, etc.

Asking around IRC, I get mixed responses, some love the idea, some hate it.

What's your take on it?

[jason]

Its really up to you. If you do global accounts then you'll make it easy for users to take advantage of everything on your site. A single account will minimize user frustrations--if they sign up in one area and then try to log in to another and can't they might become frustrated and leave for good. Repeat visitorship will also likely be better--one password is easier to remember and use than five are. I think people are used to the universal login these days after using sites like Yahoo, Google, and AOL, all of which use the single sign-on approach.

On the other hand, separate accounts may be easier to program and maintain.

Since people will likely sign up for accounts for each service using the same username and password, I see no security benefit to maintaining separate databases--if someone cracks one database they'll probably get access to other areas of the site with the same credentials as they got from the database. If you do have one area that is more sensitive than others, such as an online shopping area, you may want to have separate accounts there (kind of like how JPC's client area is a different login from the forums), but that's up to you.

Personally, I'm more for the global approach. It'll make you site look more polished. With many different accounts it will look like you just installed a bunch of different apps, each with their own databases. With a single global account it'll look like you put some time and thought into the site.

--Jason

[Gwaihir]

The global approach will make your site more integrated. That's usually a very good thing.

I can think of only one bonus of seperate systems: if you want to give free, open signups for some services and not for others, you will save yourself the trouble of writing a (complex) permissions system.

[jmkogut]

EDIT***
A single user table is far easier to maintain and access from a global User object than multiple tables in various databases.
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I can think of only one bonus of seperate systems: if you want to give free, open signups for some services and not for others, you will save yourself the trouble of writing a (complex) permissions system.

Well, since I'm using only one framework, with all my apps programmed as extensions, my entire site only uses one database (it's a rather large one though).

There is a single user table though, and yes, I definitely see your point as to the complexity of creating multiple logins.

Thanks you two, you're alot more helpful than those on FreeNode, lol heres what they said:

<jmkogut>Hey, what's your opinion on single, site-wide user accounts across multiple applications?
<`7>you stupid **** that's the largest secirty hole ever
<`7>when they break into your website
<`7>they have access to every user's account
<`7>email address
<`7>password, and everything else
<jakeFr3ka>er, it's convienient, to say the least. I'd like them.
<`7>SECUriTY Hole!!!1
<jakeFr3ka>...

[JPC-Greg]

You've got me looking into cakephp now. Why this isnt promoted more I'll never know but maybe we can help with that.

[Rebel007]

And these answers are what make Jaguar the place I am pleased to have joined! When you get (what I believe to be) one of the BOSSES at a company (Greg) with an open mind and open to new ideas then you KNOW you have struck lucky!

[jmkogut]

You've got me looking into cakephp now. Why this isnt promoted more I'll never know but maybe we can help with that.

Hey, that's cool. I (and everyone I know) consider myself a programming nazi, and most people really hate how I'm sometimes a pita when it comes to strictness in coding principles, guidelines, etc. Because of that, I RARELY ever use pre-made solutions (eww, I hate that word) like bulletin-board software, or photo-galleries, or even frameworks. If you see me using CakePHP, you gotta know that they've done /something/ right. I know for a fact that I'm never going to go back to coding from scratch

ps: If you ever need/want any help learning CakePHP (the documentation is rather scarce) just ask, I'm more than willing to help.