Please note: this change is now in effect, you must merge your Minecraft Forum account with a Twitch account. If you need any support with this please get in touch here.
Last year Curse and the Minecraft Forum joined the Twitch family and subsequently, we have provided users with the ability to merge their Minecraft Forum account with a new or existing Twitch account. With Twitch account merging, we’re able to provide more streamlined account security, faster user support, and an easier log-in process. Now, we’d like to extend these benefits to all Minecraft Forum users.
Merging your account into a Twitch account takes less than a minute, and your Minecraft Forum nickname will remain the same. Your posts, subscriptions, messages and servers will be unchanged. After merging accounts, you’ll simply log in to the forum using your Twitch credentials.
Starting on the 23rd of October, all users will need to merge their Minecraft Forum account with a new or existing Twitch account. If you’d like to merge your account before October 23rd, you can do so via My Account then click Merge Accounts. If your account is not merged on October 23rd you will be unable to log in to the Minecraft Forum until you do so, however, your account will not be deleted.
Have any questions? Feel free to send me a Private Message, ask in the comments below or submit a support ticket. For a more in-depth overview of the merge process please visit the Twitch Merge FAQ.
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Posted Oct 11, 2017Microsoft bought Mojang. There is no Mojang to buy Minecraft back, because Mojang itself is the property of Microsoft. So long, my friend, so long!
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Posted Oct 11, 2017So, how long until Microsoft buys Curse? Oh, wait, Curse is owned by Amazon.
So how long until Amazon buys Microsoft? Oh, wait, they're both too big.
It's like that game of merging hotel chains, where a sufficiently big hotel can't be acquired by another one. What was that called again?
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Posted Oct 11, 2017Probably something with "titans".
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Posted Oct 9, 2017Uh, yes, I think I do. Several.
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Posted Oct 13, 2017It's been days.
We are still waiting.
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Posted Oct 9, 2017I wasn't quite as angry about this as everyone else when reading it, but now I'm furious to see it's effectively killing about half of the community.
I once considered twitch, now I absolutely hate it. If you think this is a smart business move to get more people on either Twitch or Minecraftforum, then you are gravely mistaken. Gravely mistaken beyond belief.
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Posted Oct 9, 2017What a ridiculous move. I don't want this, and reading the comments, neither does the majority of people.
Why are you forcing this on people?
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Posted Oct 9, 2017Forcing people to get a Twitch account to keep using these forums? Despicable.
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Posted Oct 9, 2017If this is a necessary decision, I'm probably going to leave the forums. I had a fun time, but no way am I going to create another account for a streaming website that I'll never use. Just another password to write down somewhere and forget.
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Posted Oct 9, 2017So...what are WE (your users, the people, get what I happen to be saying?) getting out of this? Seems more or less like twitch just wants more users, and I see no benefit in this.
For the "Streamlined Security" part, it seems less secure to have everything under 1 name, and under 1 passkey.
For the better support it would seem that support would be overwhelmed more easily.
Best to just keep it an option.
But I'm not a million dollar company so I have no voice behind my words.
E1: I'll also bet they're gonna try to make us buy their prime service. 'cause y'know, profit's the driving force of humanity.
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Posted Oct 9, 2017Yeah, this is the opposite of security. If you're smart, you'll have different passwords for every site. If someone hijacks your Twitch/MCF account, it's two birds with one stone.
And the way this affects streamers, a group often subject to attempted hacking... Well, should those streamers have an MCF account, now the hackers have two gateways in. Only one site needs to have some vulnerability for you to lose both accounts. I don't remember if that CloudFlare leak touched this site, but imagine if it had AFTER this merge went into effect. Connecting my Twitch account is sounding more and more like a bad idea.
I'm not exactly a master programmer, so my technical knowledge might be wrong. But these are my impressions.
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Posted Oct 10, 2017Twitch accounts already have far greater security than Minecraft Forum accounts, furthermore, Twitch has a much bigger development team and part of that team are focused on ensuring that their account system is as secure and reliable as possible, meaning their account system will only improve, whereas the current Minecraft Forum authentication system is not actively being developed.
To log in to your Minecraft Forum account you will log in through Twitch using a system called OAuth. This is a secure system that does not expose your password to the Minecraft Forum, meaning if the Minecraft Forum was hacked, your Twitch account would not be at any risk. OAuth is a standard system used across the internet by companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft and more.
Furthermore, Twitch provides optional 2 Factor Authentication, which means that if you'd like an extra level of account security you can enable 2 Factor Authentication. If you are a content creator or streamer who may be a target of attempted hacking this is a fantastic improvement, as now you only need to secure your Twitch account with you can do using 2 Factor Authentication and both your Minecraft Forum and Twitch accounts are well protected.
This is a huge security win for users, there are no security downsides to this new system: only upsides.
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Posted Oct 11, 2017"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." [Proverbs 16:18]
Could you please tell me how a possible leak in the outer environment of the Minecraft forum could not allow a hacker to more easily lock on to a stream of information/keystrokes being sent through the Twitch login widget in? I mean, Twitch itself may be secure, so your Minecraft forum account may be safe, but what about when you connect your already existing Twitch account to your MCF account. Wouldn't that possibly make your Twitch credentials less safe?
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Posted Oct 11, 2017The Twitch login system communicates over https, therefore the data cannot be sniffed in transit even if you are on an insecure network. If there is a keylogger running on your machine then your security is compromised regardless. The Minecraft Forum does not have access to any Twitch credentials, the login system uses OAuth which is an industry standard used by companies like Facebook, Microsoft and Google.
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Posted Oct 11, 2017Then why not use OAuth instead of forcing us to either merge or make a Twitch account?
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Posted Oct 13, 2017This is not entirely true. Man-in-the-middle attacks have been demonstrated even against HTTPS and other "secure" protocols. There is no real security online, only degrees of difficulty in acquiring one's data.
And all of that excludes how the vast majority of breaches happen - human error/stupidity/maliciousness from someone on the "inside," e.g. poor Bob the admin who knows nothing about IT and falls for a phishing scheme, or a disgruntled employee handing out the keys to the universe.
By merging accounts, there is no getting around that we are, in fact, less secure. Sorry to break it to you.
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Posted Oct 9, 2017Question: How does this provide a streamlined account security, faster user support, and an easier log-in process?
1. A single name and password is far less secure than two of each.
2. Where does user support go? Who's supporting us? How does rolling two separate things together ensure faster user support?
3. If my last forced merger is precedent (Youtube and Google+), log-ins will actually get a lot more difficult. Having one account creates a lot of little annoyances that are terribly noticeable. Especially if there's more than zero links between each site.
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Posted Oct 10, 20171. You do not have 2 usernames or 2 passwords. You have a single username and password: your Twitch account. Twitch accounts are more secure because they offer 2 Factor Authentication, this means that if you enable 2 Factor Authentication on your Twitch account nobody can log in to your Minecraft Forum account unless they have your password and your second-factor device (your phone usually). This is a big security win, 2 Factor Authentication is an essential system for good security.
2. Twitch support is a large team of people, vs. the Minecraft Forum support which is just one agent and me.
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Posted Oct 11, 2017Correction. As someone who has ACTUALLY done the research on the matter, this is a security SETBACK. First off, your earlier mention of "OAuth protection" as being far safer is only true by a small percentage. It is still ridiculously easy for any smart hacker to break authentication and authorization to steal account info up to and including passwords, thus rendering having all accounts under 1 more troublesome and dangerous. SECOND, your mention of "2-step authentication" being safe is only marginally true in the same regard. Phone are notoriously easier to track, pinpoint and hack than most other electronic devices. One wrong slip by the user and guess what? Not only does the hacker now have access to the 2nd step of authentication, but it also has the user's account info to every linked account. Honestly, this is bad for everyone and I don't even USE this forum except to occasionally ask permission from a Mod Author to use their content!
As for the support, while it may have more agents, guess what? Those agents are handling issues from a dozen different websites too, so if you think that just having a larger task force is going to help, I think you will be sorely mistaken as the new influx of minecraft user problems is sure to bog down what is likely an already backed up agency.
This has been your daily dose of logic and reason for the day. Make a good decision and listen to your consumers. Thanks ~
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Posted Oct 11, 2017Thank you!
Don't forget, as a user, Oauth is *horrible* -- it means that your authentication server (amazon, microsoft, google, etc) knows exactly what you do, when you do, etc. It gives more of your personal information to your corporate overlord.
Welcome to null sec. High security space is now gone. Your sovereignty beacons may be turned over to your enemy by one traitor at any time.