Eng:Impersonation

Impersonation is when one person tries to be another person by creating a fake profile, account, etc. claiming to be another person.

Why this Impersonating is harmful
Impersonating can lead to Flame Wars and cause a lot of trouble. For example, the person being impersonated will feel very upset.

How can you prevent it from happening?
If you see an impersonator or someone being impersonated, always report it if you are sure of what's going on. You can click "Contact Us" located at the bottom of every page to contact the Scratch Team about the impersonation.

Some examples of Impersonation: "I am the real...[username]" "I am official. This is my one and only account...[username]" These examples may not apply as impersonation all the time, but are good to keep an eye out for. Most scratchers tell the truth. But contact a ST member if you are unsure or think that impersonation is happening.

Many people who are trying to impersonate someone else includes as much information they know about that person as possible on their profile. For example, they might include that they are THE real [first name] [middle name] [last name] on their profile. If they were real, they wouldn't have to worry about putting that on their profile, because they know they're real and they're confident about it. Now, this isn't ALWAYS true, but this example is common. Another thing to look for is whether their grammar matches the real person's grammar. Go look a profile that you are sure is real and see if the grammar matches, or if they use constant, correct punctuation/capitalization when commenting or talking.