Feature: Consider adding additional information to the User model

[atruskie]

We are beginning to need more information about our users:

• @JessCappadonna requested more information to make it easier to track participants
• There's a push to include citations in more places around the site. Having things like real names of users will help automatic citation generation (See Encode license and attribution information in project models #289 and Feature: Automatic citation generation #308)

We typically avoid asking for more information from users because it requires our security standards to be higher and introduced a higher risk of sensitive information being leaked in the case of a hack, or even inadvertently through careless data sharing. The best policy with all sensitive information is to simply not store it.

This proposal considers adding the following fields to the user model:

• [optional] Given name
• [optional] Middle names
• [optional] Surname
• [optional] Association/Institution

They will be preceded by a warning explaining that we will use that information in a public manner (other users will be able to see it) and also according to our ethics guided research policies. [EDIT:] The description will include a description that describes how we will use the information, for example, for automated citation generation and collaborating with researchers, along with an emphasis that filling out the fields is optional.

What are people's thoughts on this?

[JessieLOliver]

In addition to adding the the information about public use and our policies, it is also important to include and highlight why this information is very helpful for our research... otherwise, why would anyone add the information?

[atruskie]

@JessCappadonna updated the proposal, see the [EDIT] above

[KarlinaInd]

Sounds like a good idea.