[kzidane]

Thanks for the feedback! The main reason why we use GitHub sign in is that all CS50 students need a GitHub account to submit their work and use other CS50 tools anyway and that makes it easier for them to get started with the CS50 IDE. We might support other ways to sign in in the future though.

[userbinator]

is that all CS50 students need a GitHub account to submit their work

Have you considered the privacy and ethical implications of the obligatory use of a third-party service (with its own policies on privacy and PII) for a course?

I know GitHub may be seen by most in a better light, but to me this is as treacherous as obligatory use of Google or Facebook services for courses.

(I've worked in the CS education sector, but where students submitted work --- and worked on --- the institution's own servers.)

[joshuamorton]

GitHub is owned by Microsoft.

What pii is involved in this? There's an email address that need not apparently be your normal address. A throwaway GitHub works fine, does it not?

Many, possibly at this point most, institutions use tools like canvas, turnitin, etc. Not to mention Google docs/GAFE, or that many schools have official email provided by either google or Microsoft.

[kzidane]

Indeed. No students are forced to associate any real information with their GitHub account.