Imposters continue

[Jicarilla]

Yet again there is a user who feels the need to impersonate another user by registering a similar name and waiting until it turns grey before using it. In this case, dotjhawks was used on Homers People and Places thread, this was an imposter but the actions were so calculated. What security is there on this site? Should usernames not be checked before the name is activated?

[smudge]

I've been on AnswerBank since 2002 & have never felt the need to change my username.

In the distant past, certain individuals tried to impersonate me too, but all in vain, I'm still around!

lol Neti.

[AB Editor]

Hi Jicarilla

You are not allowed to register the same username, but unfortunately some sad souls will register with a similar name...this cannot be stopped at the registration page because we would end up unnecessarily prohibiting many legitimate usernames. As jno mentions the best policy is to report them and they will be removed.

We take security issues very seriously here, but in this case, it is not a security issue per se, just a very pathetic soul issue and unfortunately they will always abound.

We are not planning on manually checking registrations...that is just way beyond the technical and editorial/moderator resources we have. Also, it would not be in keeping with how registrations usually work on websites - we are used to a quick response and I'm afraid a 24 hour delay would put a lot of legitimate users off.

Thank you for the suggestion.

[ludwig]

I had an imposter once but I was happy to let it go because they were giving better answers than me.

[qapmoc]

Hi netibiza, well I could put up with the slow speed, noise, etc.. but what I really don't like is the s**t on your shoulder while you are reading the messages.