Quote:

It's pretty silly to try to stop someone from changing their username to something they prefer just because I find it inconvenient. It's their account.

---

As I see it it's always been policy to only do this in rare instances when there is a serious issue with the original name. (such as harassment by spouses or nosy law enforcement) If you suddenly change name to something unrecognisable you are basically taking on  another identity. People will lose track of you and alot of archived posts will become cryptic as its unclear who is quoted etc.

Most namechanges I've seen are equivalent to putting on a party hat or even people getting a namechange they didn't request.

I'd say it should remain a rare occasion for special purposes.

It's a pretty big thing to change your identity in the community you are part of. Every longtime poster with a message has some 100 people following their postings that they're unaware of. To take "an unlisted number" seriously screws with your presence in the community even if your first-line buddies are in on it.

Quote:

do you seriously think they are going to keep these names for years to come?

---

Some may want to hold onto their changed name, which has happened before.

At the moment people are/were offered voluntary namechanges. It's reasonable that some take this serious and would be displeased if their new name was suddenly taken away from them.

If I were to click a page and to find out I'd be changed to Pecan_Seeker I'd probably LOL about it. It's still recognisable and nonoffensive. If I however found my username to say I'm somebodies ballrest or something similar I'd be pissed off. Like Shroomydan argued: some of those things diminish the response to their serious posting.

Below is what I argued among the staff just now, its a nuance on my earlier position and I don't want to retype it so a C&P will do

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In my view it would be best that if this namechanging is to go on, there in my view has to be a little coding done so that the changed names only are visible in OTD (but snap back when posting on other forums) and perhaps that a mouse-over the user name reveals the original name.

If any OTDer in the confines of OTD can change their names to whatever they want whenever they want then this may give rise to a lot of clean and not-so-clean fun in there for months on end.

So if it stays confined to OTD it would definitely be a good idea in my book because OTD is a bit lame lately and this might give the impulse it needs to get more interesting again.
But in OTD only. What's clowning and perhaps quality mayhem in OTD all too easily becomes confusion and a headache if it gets out on the rest of the site.

------------------------------------------------------------------------


I do say OTD a lot but I consider it an OTD thing that got out of hand.

eric_the_red said:

the name changes are temporarily confusing. much less confusing than life and drugs though and it's a fun puzzle to solve. i see no reason to about the changes.

---

Jim, LOL said:

eric_the_red said:

the name changes are temporarily confusing. much less confusing than life and drugs though and it's a fun puzzle to solve. i see no reason to about the changes.

---

---