Username Changing

[mt2k]

I suddenly had this idea, but I'm not so sure it's a good one!
Lately, many people have probably noticed that several usernames have been changed.
- maleteen2000 - mt2k
- i_had_a_little_trouble_so_i_came_up_with_this - i43s

I was thinking, maybe there could be an option that can change your username automatically.
You could maybe have the OPTION (not madatory) to change your username no more often than once every 2 months or so.
New usernames would be posted under 'Newest Nodes' as a section called 'Changed Usernames'.
I thought it would be kinda cool to be able to modify my name once I get bored of mt2k.

What does everyone else think??
I am worried about the reputation on this node :)

[nuance]

Well, I have to admit when I saw the username that you chose (maleteen2000), my first thought was that if you were still here in a few years that you were realy going to regret having teen in your name.

I wouldn't want to see people frequently changing their username. I also think that there should be a fairly large penalty if you want to change your name.

However some people have chosen what I consider to be really strange usernames and if they choose to be here for the long haul, then they should havee the facility to change it at least once. IMHO.

Nuance

[zdog]

I tend to disagree, for two reasons.

First of all, I don't feel like going everyday to the Newest Nodes page and taking time to memorize people's new usernames.

Secondly, some people have established identities for their usernames, so that when you hear their name, you immediately know who they are and that they are devoted to PerlMonks. When people keep changing their usernames, the usernames lose their meaning and it just becomes "What we will call you this week."

You know, maybe people should be allowed to change their username, but in that case, people should lose all their XP, also, since they are under a new identity.

-- zdog (Zenon Zabinski)
   Go Bells!! '¿'

[Ozymandias]

I find myself sitting the fence on this one.

On the one hand, it could be annoying to have to memorize new usernames. That could be dealt with through some sort of penalty system for name changes; the "lose all your XP" is a bit harsh, I think, but I could see "lose one rank" - e.g., a Friar who changed their name would be dropped to the lowest XP of a Monk. And I could also see a restriction on how often you could change your name; perhaps every couple of months, as mt2k has suggested.

On the other hand, I don't see most of the people who have "established identities" changing their usernames much. I doubt I would ever change my username; I use it for many things, it isn't just my PM username. There are RL people who don't know me as anything but Ozymandias, or Ozy. Running through the mental list of people I know here, people whose usernames I recognize instantly as a particular person, I can only think of a few who might.

And even if I don't want to change my name, that doesn't mean others shouldn't be able to change their names, if they wish.

So, I guess, I don't oppose the idea of changable usernames; I don't know as I support it, either.

- Ozymandias

[redmist]

I think that this is not such a great idea. I like the idea of people being (more or less) locked into their handles. This way, their nick's carry a level of reputation and respect (or disrepute and disrespect, respectively). If you REALLY need to change your handle, create a new user.

Perhaps in the future, a system could be concocted that allows certain users to change their nick's, yet retain their rank and XP, in VERY special situations. My $.02.

redmist

[reptile]

Yes, I agree. Very special situations is the key. Just recently when vroom reduced the max length of user names, that was such a situation. However, I can't help but feel it would be fair to let people change their username in a limited way. If someone mistakenly chose a bad handle, and someday want to change it, they're pretty stuck. I know I change nicks on a whim and I'm not sure I'd like to be stuck with reptile forever. It's fine for now, but I've grown rather fond of 'gnulizard' (but that's going off topic).

It's a tough question. I suppose it would be possible to keep an aka list of users when they change, so on their home node it could list a few user names they'd had before. There would have to be some way of preventing people from changing their names constantly though. So I'll just concede and say I agree, no changing usernames unless due to exceptional circumstances.

local $_ = "0A72656B636148206C72655020726568746F6E41207473754A";
while(s/..$//) { print chr(hex($&)) }

[toadi]

well,

The first time i had to think on a username and didn't tought of it as much.
The admin said to me that I would most likelu get attached to the username I choosed.
Well he was right I use the username for years now:-)

Best is to think a bit about the name so it has a bit of a background you can tell. When I meet somebody I always ask where their username comes from(sometimes it tells something about them). Is it well chosen is it just a stupid thing they have chosen?

--
My opinions may have changed,
but not the fact that I am right

[BigJoe]

I think changing your name should result in no XP being transfered. I also think that it would be fun to be able to have the ability to do an alias. Have the alias just reference the other user. I don't know how easy this would be to implement or anything. But it would be just like on a linux box where you can alias commands.

--BigJoe