Official Feedback Request: Name Change Frequency

[ShieldWolf27]

Next month is actually when the next name change round happens, so you'll only have to wait a few weeks.

Thank you VERY much. It's been to long since I've been here. Been a member for 11 years and remember when we could change names whenever we wanted. Limiting them has been awesome for the servers. I remember when we use to crash two/three times a week.

 

[Palamon]

I voted other, but I have two responses.

I would prefer it to be six months, because four months is kinda too much. I can't remember who's who, and six months would make it far less confusing? I suppose. I might just be piggybacking everyone? Probably.

I know everyone is going to cut my throat with this, but maybe a year would be acceptable, too? Maybe that's too long of a wait. One name change a year would maybe be every January, and be less confusing than twice a year.

 

[Lunaturret]

changing it to every 6 months no thank you. Iv already wanted to change my name for a while so making it more longer as this was my first name ever technology has improve somewhat so if they can already handle 4 months keep it at that but like it says members are given an extra name change but clearly i havent seen that anywhere as iv tried to change my name but like every one else ill have to just change when time arrives. And it has been stated just check their previous name to stop all the confusion of not knowing who someone is. Every one have a lovely day

 

[Skip Class]

Voted for 6 months. In general the actual changing of the name doesn't affect me since I haven't changed my username at all since I joined 7 1/2 years ago and I don't think I'll change any time soon.
I chose 6 months since having to relearn peoples names every 4 months gets confusing at times :s

 

[moon]

Re: Supporter perks, I dunno. If I'm gonna bring back some sort of supporter name change perk, I'd want it to be Platinum-only, but I'm quite hesitant since that's a huge amount of money to expect someone to donate for any kind of perk. I'm not sure about bringing it back for Crystal supporters since differentiation between Crystal and Plat is a recurring issue, and I think that Crystal supporters get quite a lot of

Perhaps that wouldn't be a bad idea. Haven't platinum supporters sometimes wanted more distinction? It might not even need to be officially advertised; sometimes around the year when the name change thread isn't up, you might simply notice a plat name change and be curious about it. Rumors could tell the tale of an extra name change per year being given as a special thanks to the major supporters of PC. That way, we wouldn't be asking people to donate a huge amount of money for that special half hidden perk (their extra name change thread would only ever be seen in the VIP forum), we'd just hint mysteriously that it's a cool thing we appreciate :3 Maybe you don't like to hide things away like that, but I think it seems like a pretty fair deal.

I would become plat for this tho hahah

 

[Nihilego]

Perhaps that wouldn't be a bad idea. Haven't platinum supporters sometimes wanted more distinction? It might not even need to be officially advertised; sometimes around the year when the name change thread isn't up, you might simply notice a plat name change and be curious about it. Rumors could tell the tale of an extra name change per year being given as a special thanks to the major supporters of PC. That way, we wouldn't be asking people to donate a huge amount of money for that special half hidden perk (their extra name change thread would only ever be seen in the VIP forum), we'd just hint mysteriously that it's a cool thing we appreciate :3 Maybe you don't like to hide things away like that, but I think it seems like a pretty fair deal.

I would become plat for this tho hahah

I quite like this way of looking at it. We're pretty quiet about Plat's existence and bonuses anyway (or at least, we were back when it was still known as CST6) so I guess we could do this. Although I actually had some thoughts regarding this which would give Plat supporters much more than simply an extra name change a year... 8)

Wasn't going to really join the conversation much, but I did want to respond to this. Is it possible to make a new supporter tier around $50-$75USD and balance the perks around Crystal-Something-Plat tiers? Don't know if this helps, since I haven't paid too much attention to what perks happen and at what stages.

I can't speak for all of the hstaff here, and this kinda thing would need a lot of discussion, but I wouldn't support it. We previously had 6 supporter tiers and had significant issues with fragmentation and lack of differentiation between them, along with confusion over how many there were. That's a major reason why we have the 4-tier system that we have now.

 

[Hikamaru]

However, I do think that extra accounts to keep your older name shouldn't be a thing. I mean, why you would change your username otherwise, if you're going to come back to your older username? Again, this is just me. But I don't think that it's great, besides that, the actual system is just good enough for me.

The only issue I could see arising from cracking down on alt account reserving is if the name in question is a common one that would likely get snapped up. Example, a name like mine would be less likely to be taken by someone else as like say, Oshawott or some common Pokemon name.

I feel like three times a year seems to be perfect, it's still fairly spaced out but at the same time people don't have to wait as long for a name change as opposed to twice a year which is far longer.

 

[Nihilego]

The only issue I could see arising from cracking down on alt account reserving is if the name in question is a common one that would likely get snapped up. Example, a name like mine would be less likely to be taken by someone else as like say, Oshawott or some common Pokemon name.

You've described the problem precisely. I would like to stop people from "reserving" usernames so that they are freed up for new users who intend to commit to using them. This is not an attempt to prevent people from making too many alternative accounts, but to stop them from hording usernames that other people could want in a non-committal manner. When you request a username change you are asking for just that - a change - not an additional name that you can freely swap back to whenever it takes your fancy. I follow the same logic as Archy here; name changes exist for the purpose of changing your name. No-one needs to preserve their old names on dead accounts, taking them away from everybody else who might want them in the process.

 

[Wicked3DS]

I still don't understand how "makes it difficult to keep track of who's who" is a thing when we have "previously known as" for that reason specifically.

 

[Nick]

You've described the problem precisely. I would like to stop people from "reserving" usernames so that they are freed up for new users who intend to commit to using them. This is not an attempt to prevent people from making too many alternative accounts, but to stop them from hording usernames that other people could want in a non-committal manner. When you request a username change you are asking for just that - a change - not an additional name that you can freely swap back to whenever it takes your fancy. I follow the same logic as Archy here; name changes exist for the purpose of changing your name. No-one needs to preserve their old names on dead accounts, taking them away from everybody else who might want them in the process.

The higher staff should then consider deleting those accounts instead of keeping the policy of deleting accounts the same as its been for a while. If a user account has been made and hasn't made a single post in a year since its creation, then it should be viewed as an account to hold a username. Lord knows I have dozens of usernames that I registered here with the purpose of hoarding them in the slim chance that I would choose that name in the future that has surely been impactful towards new users and existing users wanting that username.

 

[Taemin]

^ Would deleting accounts free up the server space / load at all?

Even if it doesn't, that's a good idea. Opens the names up for other people.

I like the changes every four months, because there's a lot of us that that find a lot of fun in changing our usernames, and it's part of why we like forums. However, I also believe that if someone can keep a name for four months, tacking on another two won't kill anybody. Though, maybe keep the donation perk of an extra name change. :p

 

[Universe]

My opinion: If you need your name changed every 4 months, you really need to make better choices about the usernames you pick. 4 months has always been too frequent in my mind, and I certainly didn't like it years ago when names were changed on the fly all the time. Some websites don't even permit usename changing at all, so let's make wise choices when picking our identifying label okay.

Anyway, +1 to 6 months.

You've described the problem precisely. I would like to stop people from "reserving" usernames so that they are freed up for new users who intend to commit to using them. This is not an attempt to prevent people from making too many alternative accounts, but to stop them from hording usernames that other people could want in a non-committal manner. When you request a username change you are asking for just that - a change - not an additional name that you can freely swap back to whenever it takes your fancy. I follow the same logic as Archy here; name changes exist for the purpose of changing your name. No-one needs to preserve their old names on dead accounts, taking them away from everybody else who might want them in the process.

I am keeping Larry and that's that. >:(

 

[Hikamaru]

As well, if we do reduce the amount of changes one can do in a year, can there perhaps be a reversal clause where you can revert back to your old name within so many weeks if we find it's not suitable? (Say, it's difficult typing in or people just don't seem to like it)

That could be an interesting tactic, and I know quite a few users who often wanted to regret a name they chose and ended up going back to their best name on a future name change session. Like say, while I never plan to ditch this name, I was to like say name myself after some fad I've been catching on to, and then people say "this name is alright but it's not you" then I would appreciate getting a chance to go back to my usual name. Same if I were to use a name that had a special character in it, I would likely not want to stick with it since I prefer ones that you can type in easily without cut-and-pasting.

 

[Wicked3DS]

My opinion: If you need your name changed every 4 months, you really need to make better choices about the usernames you pick. 4 months has always been too frequent in my mind, and I certainly didn't like it years ago when names were changed on the fly all the time. Some websites don't even permit usename changing at all, so let's make wise choices when picking our identifying label okay.

That's not what it's about at all for me, for me it's that I may only want to have a certain username for a shorter amount of time before switching back. It has nothing to do with making good choices, I don't think it's fair to say that.

 

[Meganium]

I thought username changes are fine at 4-month intervals. They didn't sound too frequent. Now, having 4-month intervals ON TOP OF allowing crystal/plat supporters an extra name change during the 4-month period is too frequent in my books.

While I disagree that 6 months is a better option for name change frequency, I can understand from a staff standpoint as to why that is a better option. That way there would be less confusion between members, less work, and less alt accounts to be made. lol.

 

[moon]

That's not what it's about at all for me, for me it's that I may only want to have a certain username for a shorter amount of time before switching back. It has nothing to do with making good choices, I don't think it's fair to say that.

(not just a reply to Alex, but related)

What this all boils down to is probably that people see the forum username as different things. Some regard it as a fashion statement or gimmick (generalizing here), while others want to be easily recognizable and see it as more of an identity or name. PC is playing rather nicely, enabling changes at all and as such catering to that former type of user, while also allowing the latter to stay as they are if they prefer that. Too frequently allowed changes might sway too much in favor for the former part of the userbase, judging from the voices in this thread.

So perhaps every 6 months indeed is a nice sounding middle ground between two different mindsets, if 4 months upset too many. Half a year sees seasons changing and people coming and going; it is a long time. But it's also not an eternity :)

 

[Keiran]

I voted for 6 months, but I think 1 per year + an additional 1 for a supporter rank would be better. I just believe identities should have at least some sense of permanence.

 

[Daydream]

The appeal of name changes is the fact that you can actually have them. I've stuck with Daydream for about five years now, but now that I'm around for an approaching username changing period, I am tempted.

Voting for six months because that seems more sensible. Not that I'm opposed to the current system, but I think a little more consistency would be nice. In particular for more casual users of PC. If your activity levels on the forum rise and fall (like mine certainly have) it can be encouraging to still know names when you do check back in. For people who don't/can't commit a lot of time to the forum it's nice to be able to dip back in and still have some idea of who everyone is. And if you are just browsing casually, you probably don't wanna go to someone's profile and see if they are who you think they are. This isn't a huge consideration, since the focus here will obviously been on active members of the community, but something to think about nonetheless.

Also perhaps, username change time could be advertised by way of an email notification? That alleviates the worry of missing out. Aaaand maybe after username changes take place, their could be a bulletin posted for a thread along the lines of 'Come see what your friends new usernames are!' I know they could just check the name change thread but this would be a more blatant 'OKAY STOP BEING CONFUSED' kinda sign.

 

[Hikamaru]

Aaaand maybe after username changes take place, their could be a bulletin posted for a thread along the lines of 'Come see what your friends new usernames are!' I know they could just check the name change thread but this would be a more blatant 'OKAY STOP BEING CONFUSED' kinda sign.

This could be something interesting, especially given all the confusion issues that get brought up so to have something to tell you who's who might actually be easier than just checking the name changes thread.

 

[Nihilego]

Also perhaps, username change time could be advertised by way of an email notification? That alleviates the worry of missing out. Aaaand maybe after username changes take place, their could be a bulletin posted for a thread along the lines of 'Come see what your friends new usernames are!' I know they could just check the name change thread but this would be a more blatant 'OKAY STOP BEING CONFUSED' kinda sign.

I know I said in the first post that workload isn't an issue, but if everyone who's ever registered on this forum received an email informing them about name changes (bearing in mind that we have somewhere in the region of 520,000 members now) then the workload would be absolutely massive. All of the admins working together wouldn't even scratch the surface. I'd rather that only the active members who see the name change announcements make requests.

That could be a possible idea @ the post-change bulletin board thread, but short of me listing every user who had a name change in one single post, I don't know how much utility it'd provide. I guess I could do that if I had a spare hour or two to catalogue them all but... I don't. Haha. I'll think about it anyway though - I think I remember Audy coming up with some smart way to automatically list people who've recently had name changes.