Changing User Name

[AuntPollyGrey]

Why can't anyone change their Username on AB? Its the only Forum I'm on that does not give this facility. To avoid people changing their name every month (which I doubt would ever happen) you could have, for example, one change of name per year based on the email used by the user. What is the reasoning behing this please? ( holds breath....)

[Bobbisox1]

And TCL, I don’t give a rats rectum either, it gets like the Spanish Inquisition and becomes comical watching ‘super sleuths at work

[ladybirder]

Please No. I get muddled enough without folks changing their flipping names. If lots of people did it, it would be a nightmare.

[THECORBYLOON]

It matters if it's a banned person, surely?

[emmie]

i am quite happy keeping mine, its easy to remember

[Bobbisox1]

TCL yes I agree but still it doesn’t interest me, I’d rather the powers that be deal with it

[naomi24]

Corby, there are a few people who make it a bit of a hobby to keep track of those returning under a different name.

[Ellipsis]

In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros in 1993, Prince changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol (a hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar, known to fans as the "Love Symbol"), and was sometimes referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince or TAFKAP, or simply the Artist.

That wouldn't be confusing at all with AB's membership, would it?

"TMFKAAPG" - the member formerly known as AuntPollyGrey.

[ABSpareEditor]

The problem with changing usernames is that the name won't change in the URL for your profile page - so the link to your profile page will always contain the old username. Essentially, it's not possible to change the usernames everywhere within our system, so making these changes can cause problems, which is why we rarely do it these days.

[naomi24]

Allowing random changes of username just on a whim would create confusion. I don’t think it’s a good idea.

[Prudie]

I've got used to mine now but I do think when you first register you should be warned that it will be almost impossible to ever change it on that account. Like Bazile I didn't think much when I first joined and just used the name of my cat. Little did I know at the time that there was an infamous troll member called prudential at the time and the site was quite hostile and suspicious at the time and some people thought I was her.

[elliemay1]

'rarely' doesn't mean 'never' so perhaps letting AuntPollyGrey become APG isn't a drastic change and could be done easily enough

[Prudie]

Prudentia ......

[naomi24]

Ellie, but then others would say ‘If she did it why can’t I?’ Unless it’s for a legitimate reason - say anonymity compromised, if it were my decision I would leave it at is it. Anything else just creates hassle.

[pixie374]

I think it could get confusing and cause hassle. I usually shorten usernames, as I'm on a phone, and naturally lazy. But if someone said they didn't like it, or gave a preferred version, I'd use that... so maybe just let people know.

[THECORBYLOON]

When I was at the DWP, there was a change in legal guidance on earnings (co-incidently and confusingly, the person giving the advice used two different names) and I produced a local form for another section to send to employers.

As it had the DWP logo on it, we couldnt just send them out, it had to be approved centrally.

It involved establishing the time taken to complete each part of the form, how often it would be needed, the the cost of the paper, obtaining agreement from the heads of the other business area, changing procedural guidance etc.

It was not used.

[elliemay1]

Just being nosy Pixie, why the 374 after your name?

[pixie374]

Ellie, no logical reason lol. I think I tried hundreds of usernames at first, all of which claimed to be "already taken", although I don't think I've seen any actually used... so I just went for my old cat's name and added numbers. Started with 373, as I like those numbers :-)

[gulliver1]

I can spot four posters on this thread who have gone from this site for different reasons , and rejoined under different names.

[THECORBYLOON]

There's no problem with folk leaving (not banned) and returning under a different name.

[Bazile]

I'm not asking for the facility to change names willy nilly .

A one off amnesty was promised and then not kept .

All I'm asking is a one off chance for those who are not happy with their username to change it

Surely that's not unreasonable .