(zdog) RE: Username Changing

[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