About Changing Names

[Ryoutarou]

First of all, your post are still there. People can still see them, nothing is deleted. So nothing you worked for is gone, it?s just a number that is being reset in exchange for a new name. Rep? That doesn?t mean jack these days the way people abuse it. I know peoples mind sets change over time, but they should stick to a name that they can put up with for as long as they?re going to be at a board. So, you can't complain about your hard earned post because they are still there.

Now, if we did allow them who?s to say we wouldn?t get lost in all the request? If we did it by thread, eventually you?re going to have a situation like SPPf where the higher staff neglect or just plain forget about it. If we did it via PM people we would get a lot of people who don?t read the rules and request for a name change if we put a time cap on it (though that would happen either way).

 

[PsiUmbreon]

Post count= a number. If you don't want to change your name because of a number, that's your problem.

False stats, probably, but I don't care about those really. I never look, XD

To you it may be. But to some, it's more than just a number. Posts, join date, and rep are something people work hard for. We shouldn't have to force regular members to choose between username and posts, rep, and join date. That stuff has sentimental value to many here, whether you like to admit it or not.

Again, it's not that much of a hassle really. Not everyone is going to want to change their names. In fact a lot of the 8000 members are just double accounts/members that went inactive long ago. So it's not like you'll get 8000 requests. Also not everyone wants to change their name. Not everyone wil say "OMG Name changz r allowd!" and run to the name change thread. Also, it's not like only one admin has to change them. There are 11 of you with such power. Maybe two or three can change names for people.

Also, there's nothing wrong with a limitation that says that members can only change names once every three months. Simply post that on the thread, and post who got their name changed when. And if you guys still think that's too much work.. well I have this to say: Administrators on all forums do a lot of work. Being an administrator is a job. Of course it takes work. And it's not like all 11 admins/praetors here are too busy to change a few names.

Thirdly, changing names for people is not going to affect PC's identity. I know a lot of you pride yourselves for being different than SPPf. But one change is not going to make you guys a clone of SPPf. You have your own identity already... trust me. PC is more festive and less strict in certain areas. It's relatively easy to make friends here and gain respect. And those are good things that won't change with the addition of a name change request thread.

So yeah, I know I'm repeating myself, but yeah I don't see a reason to deny members this simple request.

;197;

 

[Natsuki]

.__. *gets shot down with an arrow* XD OK, now that I've been defiled, time for more opinions! ^o^

*ahem* I'm just thinking that it would be nice if we could do username changes for members. <.<;; Now, if we're doing this to make it seem as though we're not copying SPPf then...that's got to be the dumbest reason I've ever heard. XD I mean, who cares what SPPf does? It's like saying we can't have pokemon in our avatars because "SPPf has them." @.@

If we're not doing name changes because it might be a bit too much to handle, well then I guess that would be a decision for the admins to make since they'd be the ones to actually be able to do name changes.

Maybe a time laps would be in order. I think SPPf has a three month laps, unless they changed it. <_< Anyways, I'm done for now. Time to go find a profile! ^______^

~Kelsey

 

[Rukario]

whats the point of name changing... pick a name and stick with it... simple.

those that constantly change names are either avoiding something or hiding (from) something(one).

 

[Ryoutarou]

Like I said, I really don?t see why people can?t just stick to a name. They join knowing full well that that is the name they will be known by for as long as they stay at a certain place. Steve, I don?t agree that people are ?hiding? from anyone. It?s just that preferences change overtime, but people should be wise enough to know that once you enter that name into the registration, you will be known by that name. Having people changing their name just because they got tired of one or something like that is pointless, they should have thought ahead when they joined.

 

[pika2000]

whats the point of name changing... pick a name and stick with it... simple.

those that constantly change names are either avoiding something or hiding (from) something(one).

They don't.
Many people's interests change and so they want to change their names.

Having more than one account makes it very easy to avoid a ban, ever thought of that?

 

[Ryoutarou]

They don't.
Many people's interests change and so they want to change their names.

Having more than one account makes it very easy to avoid a ban, ever thought of that?

That could be why we have IP checks, it's fairly easy to see through people avoiding bans.

 

[pika2000]

That could be why we have IP checks >>

Most people's IPs change when they disconnect/restart the computer, like mine does.

 

[PsiUmbreon]

First of all, your post are still there. People can still see them, nothing is deleted. So nothing you worked for is gone, it?s just a number that is being reset in exchange for a new name. Rep? That doesn?t mean jack these days the way people abuse it. I know peoples mind sets change over time, but they should stick to a name that they can put up with for as long as they?re going to be at a board. So, you can't complain about your hard earned post because they are still there.

It's not the same and you know it's not. Listen to the members. They still complain of being mistaken for a n00b because of join date/post count. Yes, those mean something: Those measure how much people contribute to the forum community and how long they have been contributing. And rep gives PC it's own identity, different from SPPf. You say who cares? Well, a lot of the members here would. If you got rid of it, you would be taking away from PC's identity. It's not until it's gone that people take it for granted.

Now, if we did allow them who?s to say we wouldn?t get lost in all the request? If we did it by thread, eventually you?re going to have a situation like SPPf where the higher staff neglect or just plain forget about it. If we did it via PM people we would get a lot of people who don?t read the rules and request for a name change if we put a time cap on it (though that would happen either way).

A neglected name change thread is better than none at all. Besides I know you guys wouldn't forget about it. ;) And yeah there will always be rule breakers. But making people start new accounts here can lead to other problems too. One person can pose as two different people, using that person's old account, making you guys more responsible for checking IP addresses to make sure that this doesn't happen. A name change thread would strongly discourage double/triple accounts. Also, the member listings are cluttered with people with different names. Newbies won't know who's who, and what's going on with the members. A name change thread would also help keep that uncluttered, making this place more newb-friendly.

Lastly, without a name change request thread, members will take up more than one name. Suppose someone takes the name "Umbreon" (just an example XD) Then that person starts a new account with the name "Espeon". That person would take up two names and not just one. So if someone else wanted "Umbreon" for a name they wouldn't be allowed to have it.

 

[Ryoutarou]

Most people's IPs change when they disconnect/restart the computer, like mine does.

Only if you have AOL or dial up in most cases. Still, if the ISP is about the same, it's easy to tell.

 

[PsiUmbreon]

That could be why we have IP checks, it's fairly easy to see through people avoiding bans.

Blue, what would be more work? Checking every single IP, or a name change thread?

 

[Pazuzu]

Only if you have AOL or dial up in most cases. Still, if the ISP is about the same, it's easy to tell.

well my ISP is aol.com and I think lots of other people got the same >_>

 

[PsiUmbreon]

Like I said, I really don?t see why people can?t just stick to a name. They join knowing full well that that is the name they will be known by for as long as they stay at a certain place. Steve, I don?t agree that people are ?hiding? from anyone. It?s just that preferences change overtime, but people should be wise enough to know that once you enter that name into the registration, you will be known by that name. Having people changing their name just because they got tired of one or something like that is pointless, they should have thought ahead when they joined.

It doesn't have to be that way. What, are we supposed to know that 6 months later we'll get tired of names? I highly doubt most people know what they are going to like 6 months from now.

 

[T3hCoM]

Lastly, without a name change request thread, members will take up more than one name. Suppose someone takes the name "Umbreon" (just an example XD) Then that person starts a new account with the name "Espeon". That person would take up two names and not just one. So if someone else wanted "Umbreon" for a name they wouldn't be allowed to have it.

There's a good point, U_07.

And because of that, if you consider name changing on the future, you should also consider pruning inactive accounts. That way, if someone, wether for a name change of a newbie registering, he/she can get his/her desired name. Besides, some accounts here haven't been active since the forum's beginnings, looking at their last activity dates.

EDIT: And just in case, I'm NOT saying this so you copy SPPf.

 

[Ryoutarou]

It doesn't have to be that way. What, are we supposed to know that 6 months later we'll get tired of names? I highly doubt most people know what they are going to like 6 months from now.

Mood swings? People will be having one every other day, we can't cater to their every whim because they feel different. It's the members job to pick a name they can stick with. Like I said, I know people change, yes, that's a fact. But they can still at least pick a name that will relatively be what they want in whatever amount of time, no matter what mood they are in. I've seen people on other forums change their name because they just "feel like it" and then three days later they regret making that choice.

 

[Sasuke-X]

Yes. It would be much easier.

 

[PsiUmbreon]

Mood swings? People will be having one every other day, we can't cater to their every whim because they feel different. It's the members job to pick a name they can stick with. Like I said, I know people change, yes, that's a fact. But they can still at least pick a name that will relatively be what they want in whatever amount of time, no matter what mood they are in. I've seen people on other forums change their name because they just "feel like it" and then three days later they regret making that choice.

Again, that's why a 2-3 month restriction is part of it. They have to stick with names for a certain amount of time. It's a nice balance between the convenience of changing names and having to stick with something.

Besides I really don't think every member is going to change their name every time they can. They will soon see that it confuses their friends and will be more likely to stick with their name.

 

[Ryoutarou]

Again, that's why a 2-3 month restriction is part of it. They have to stick with names for a certain amount of time. It's a nice balance between the convenience of changing names and having to stick with something.

Besides I really don't think every member is going to change their name every time they can. They will soon see that it confuses their friends and will be more likely to stick with their name.

I could see it working with a restriction...I'd be more intune with a once every 6 months or once every year thing though. Just so people won't be saying they don't like the new name a few months after, so they can actually get use to it.

 

[PsiUmbreon]

I could see it working with a restriction...I'd be more intune with a once every 6 months or once every year thing though. Just so people won't be saying they don't like the new name a few months after, so they can actually get use to it.

Yeah, all right that sounds good ^^

 

[Claire]

Ya, i guess i'd be ok with this as long as there were a lot of restrictions on how often the change could happen and how many people at a time ^^;