Understand identities, affiliations, and roles
Distinguish the sign-in account, professional person, organization, and active roles.
In this article
- Account
- Identity used for sign-in and personal preferences.
- Professional actor
- The person’s professional-context profile, with authorized contact and career data.
- Affiliation
- Relationship between a person and an organization, sometimes limited by effective dates.
- Role
- Responsibility or capability granted in a specific system, organization, or project.
Practical guidance
Personal profile information, professional information and organization affiliations are presented in different settings sections. Editing descriptive career text does not establish membership or grant an operational role. Use the affiliation workflow for the actual organization relationship.
Advanced tips
If two identities or affiliations look similar, compare their organization and effective dates before choosing one. Preserve historical affiliations as history; ask the authorized owner to resolve an incorrect current relationship instead of rewriting it as free text.
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