UPSB v3
News & Announcements / (VOTE) Name change policy
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:07:14
Hello everybody,
We are considering the possiblity of changing the name change policy. When we opened UPSB, we (the staff) didn't discuss the policy of name changing thoroughly. In retrospect, this proves to be an oversight on our part.
The current name change policy allows anybody with 20 posts minimum to change their name once, every month.
We think the current policy is excessive. We put forth the following reasons against our current policy:- In an online community, your name is your identity. It should therefore be treated more seriously. Your reputation is built around your name. This is the reason why famous spinners make very few (or only minor) changes to their names. They are already remembered by their old name, so even if they change their name, people will most likely still call them by their old pseudonym. This is not like your MSN display name; this is an important decision.
- Having the ability to change name can be misleading. Certain people think they can change an unlimited number of time. It often occurs that a person changes their name as a joke, only to be stuck with it for a month.
- By changing your name, you're deprecating all your past works to people who are not aware of your new name, thus making you less credible. Imagine being a famous spinner, then changing your name. If you go to a random person and tell them "I'm
but I changed name", the random person is less likely to believe you. You lose credibility. This is also problematic for manually kept databases, the most important one being the white list (although the new feedback system gets rid of this problem). - Identity theft: we've already had several instances where someone purposedly changed his/her name to the old name of another person, thus preventing that other person from reverting to his/her previous name. E.G.: Bob -> Bob1, John -> Bob, Bob1 cannot go back to Bob until the new Bob (John) vacates that name.
- And finally the best reason is that it's just darn confusing for everybody else! It's quite tiring to keep track of who is who if people change their name on a regular basis. A common situation is trying to remember one's new name while trying to PM him/her.
We propose the following amendments:- Raise the time limit: by increasing the limit to 6 months or 1 year, we're deterring users from changing their name carelessly. A name change then becomes an important decision. The disadvantage is that people who don't read the rules might change their name for fun and gets stuck with it for a long period of time, unintentionally.
- Raise the post requirement: by increasing the post requirement from 20 to 800 or 1000, the volume of name changes becomes much more manageable. In addition, people with a high post count are already well established in the community and so are already less likely to change. The disadvantage is that this might promote spamming as people might now want to increase their post count rapidly to obtain this privilege. This might be combined with the suggestion above of raising the time limit as well.
- Name changes must be requested to an administrator: this is similar to the UCPSB system. Name changes must be approved and made by an admin. This can be annoying for the administrators, therefore only serious changes will be considered. The disadvantage is that it puts additional workload for admins.
If an amendment is put into action, rest assured that we will allow a grace period to all members, where everybody will be granted the right to change their name before the new policy is enacted. Furthermore, we will ensure that everybody will be informed of the decision through public notices and e-mails.
This poll will run for 1 to 2 weeks.
The results of this poll are not decisive; we reserve the right to act as we see fit.
Feel free to suggest additional alternatives and comments on the issue. - In an online community, your name is your identity. It should therefore be treated more seriously. Your reputation is built around your name. This is the reason why famous spinners make very few (or only minor) changes to their names. They are already remembered by their old name, so even if they change their name, people will most likely still call them by their old pseudonym. This is not like your MSN display name; this is an important decision.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:12:59
i was thinking of extending the time, but i then realized that it would only increase the damage done by changes. Post counts would just increase spam. I think mod approval is the best way to go
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:17:15
I like the idea of mod approval best because extending time wouldn't fix the problem as much i guess
? and increasing post count would encourage more useless posts. but then this idea makes a hassle for mods 
(sry), so maybe add a name changing mod to ur section of mods to surf the forum? 
(i would volunteer i promise i won't approve useless name changes? XD) -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:21:15
I was having a hard time choosing between more time or mod approval, I ended up voting for more time, but I now think mod approval is the way to go, and the person should need a valid reason included in his request for it to be accepted
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:33:43
Mod request. A person can make the best decision, IMO.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:48:01
I voted for extending the time. If someone is stupid enough not to read the board policy, it serves 'em right if they lose credibility/rep/face. I think the more famous spinners tend to be smarter about their names, so they won't make capricious changes.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:56:43
Requesting this name change to a moderator would make it perfect. This way the moderators can moderate how oftena person can change their name.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:57:02
yea but it's socially annoying. and then they'll be ruining six months worth of reputation when they switch back
EDIT: @ tswift -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 03:58:02
there should be a choice
"A person can change their name whenever they want, but only a certain number of times"
so basically, let people change it whenever, but only give them a max amount of times before their name just gets locked (i think 2 or 3 times would be reasonable)
-so mods wont' be hassled with requests and people will control themselves cause they know they have a limit to the amount of times that they're allowed to change
edit---oh, even with that said though, i still think name changing should be left up to the mods -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 04:25:38
Mod request. Using a mods judgement is more trustworthy than number of posts
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 04:31:13
y is there no option for banning it
lol -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 04:33:07QUOTE (Shadowserpant @ Jun 25 2008, 12:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>y is there no option for banning it
lol
mod request is same thing as removing name changes. its just that mods can allow it sometimes. -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 04:33:07
I voted for mod's choice.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 05:19:59
all name changes should be checked with a mod first
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 08:28:05
why not combine all 3?
to change the name you need over 800 posts but even if you do have that much post you can only change your many once in 6 month. and since not all of us is going to even reach 800 post.. and if you desparately neeed a name changed, you ask the admins.
and to ask the admins for a name change you can make a thread so they can request for it in public. i hate it when someone changes their name and i don't know who they are. eg inoruh? (huroni)
to post on the thread you need to write down:
-your current name
-desired name
-reasons for this change
example:
WhiteFang -> Zombo
reason: i wish to change my name from WhiteFang to Zombo because there are more than one WhiteFang in other communities and people get confused. (but a better reason)
however the admins can only change the name for you if the reason is EXTREMELY good. -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 08:59:44QUOTE (WhiteFang @ Jun 25 2008, 10:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>why not combine all 3?
to change the name you need over 800 posts but even if you do have that much post you can only change your many once in 6 month. and since not all of us is going to even reach 800 post.. and if you desparately neeed a name changed, you ask the admins.
and to ask the admins for a name change you can make a thread so they can request for it in public. i hate it when someone changes their name and i don't know who they are. eg inoruh? (huroni)
to post on the thread you need to write down:
-your current name
-desired name
-reasons for this change
example:
WhiteFang -> Zombo
reason: i wish to change my name from WhiteFang to Zombo because there are more than one WhiteFang in other communities and people get confused. (but a better reason)
however the admins can only change the name for you if the reason is EXTREMELY good.
i was also gonna say combine all three
maybe make two limits
lower limit -> members who don't have much posts, so they aren't 'established' members,a nd they want to change they name soon after they join the board, meaybe because they noticed someone has similar nick like his/her
upper limit -> members who have over n posts, and are established, need to provide a good reason
but then again, there are members who are established, but don't have many posts :/
and ask members with confusing nicks to change them as soon as they join the board (nicks like someone and me)
and, i did't vote yet -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 11:26:15QUOTE (minche @ Jun 25 2008, 06:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>i was also gonna say combine all three
maybe make two limits
lower limit -> members who don't have much posts, so they aren't 'established' members,a nd they want to change they name soon after they join the board, meaybe because they noticed someone has similar nick like his/her
upper limit -> members who have over n posts, and are established, need to provide a good reason
but then again, there are members who are established, but don't have many posts :/
and ask members with confusing nicks to change them as soon as they join the board (nicks like someone and me)
and, i did't vote yet
i dn't think this will work. so if lower limit was 20 and upper limit was 1000. i'll be pretty pissed off if i can't change my name because i have like 700 post and people with 20 post can change their name.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 14:32:54
Request name change to mod gets my vote.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 15:15:50
Request a name change to a moderator but i'd like to see that combined with a rule that only allows a name change once every 6 months or 1 year.
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Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 17:46:56
okay I'l make a suggestion: you say that changing names is not a good thing beacause all the past work is depreciated and it is confusing.
So changing name only after 800 posts is not a good thing regarding to the 800 or 1000 previous post. So if we set a limit of name changing based on posts, it would be better BEFORE 20 post. After 20 post we cannot change. Beacause a person cannot have a real reputation after only 20 post, it cannot be confusing of changing names before 20 posts. Also, my first name was Penspinoob, an ovbiously bad idea. So I spammed my 20 posts to change to Stay'n Alive, which is a good name and will never be changed again. In the early days of a forum user, there may be youth errors, and we need to permit early name changes to give the chance to people to have a good name BEFORE having a reputation with this name, beacause this name may be 1) not good, 2) a temporary name given beacause the guy don't have his final idea for now.
This is my point: the name swaps should be unlimited during the 20 first post or the first month, than be possible with the accord of a moderator.
If someone made something like 200 posts with his name, he got a real reputation, he asssume that he won't change his name and it would be stupid to forbid him to change untill his 800th post, when his reputation would be far bigger. The effect of increasing the name caps would be people who spam to change their name or create a new account.
I think also that name changes should never be totally forbidden, and I think the option of changing with the accord of a moderator should be always possible to make minor changes of orthograph correction, or some exceptional situations of people who are known by a nickname other than their username, and want to change this name for this nickname
3rd edit: If the moderator's choice is... chose, mods' should accept most of verry early names changes, 'cause as I explained upper, these can be temporary names, or bad ideas. Beacause the earlyer it is, the tinier the reputation is, and the less confusing it is.
4rd edit: Bonne chance pour lire tout ça, Zombo lol... -
Date: Wed, Jun 25 2008 22:13:16
Well on another forum I visit (which has a HUGE community compared to this one) name changes are rarely given. Generally there has to be a valid reason (people making fun of you for your name etc) before you can change it, or you can donate to do so. Mods had to be PMed about it.
It worked quite nicely, although it did cause 1 problem: people decided to just make multiple accounts because the policy was so strict. If you do decide to make it 6 months or have a post count of 800-1000, people will make multiple accounts instead of waiting. Now, I know multiple accounts are bannable, but we lose members of an already small community which is a bad thing.
-I think once every 6 months is fair, maybe longer. Although maybe throw in a 1 month period were you can request name changes from a moderator; starting out people might pick a random name. They might come up with a name that actually fits a bit after, so they`ll want to change it.
-I don`t like the 800-1000 posts thing though; it`s a bit too high. It`ll just encourage spam, which in my opinion is worse than name changes.
-PMing a moderator works nicely, although what would you base it on? Would name changes only be considered for valid reasons? Once again being overly strict encourages multiple accounts, which results in a loss of members.
Whatever you do decide to implement, don`t be overly strict=/. This community is small enough as it is and if a new member isn`t allowed to change their name they might leave D:. -
Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 02:58:26
Yea, in my opinion, there should be a limit to how many times one should be able to change but on the other hand they should also be able to appeal to a mod at any time to request for a name change.
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Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 03:01:10
yah i was thinking the same thing about the name policy
the person is built around their name and if you change it, it makes everything before kinda wierd.
i think we should just babe able to change it maybe once or twice just in case someone messed up on their name when registering or somthing.
i dont think once a month is very good. -
Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 07:57:34QUOTE (Zombo @ Jun 25 2008, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
- In an online community, your name is your identity. It should therefore be treated more seriously. Your reputation is built around your name. This is the reason why famous spinners make very few (or only minor) changes to their names. They are already remembered by their old name, so even if they change their name, people will most likely still call them by their old pseudonym. This is not like your MSN display name; this is an important decision.
I agree with this.QUOTE (Zombo @ Jun 25 2008, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>- Identity theft: we've already had several instances where someone purposedly changed his/her name to the old name of another person, thus preventing that other person from reverting to his/her previous name. E.G.: Bob -> Bob1, John -> Bob, Bob1 cannot go back to Bob until the new Bob (John) vacates that name.
I predicted this! http://www.upsb.info/forum/index.php?showt...t=0&start=0QUOTE (Zombo @ Jun 25 2008, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>- Raise the time limit: by increasing the limit to 6 months or 1 year, we're deterring users from changing their name carelessly. A name change then becomes an important decision. The disadvantage is that people who don't read the rules might change their name for fun and gets stuck with it for a long period of time, unintentionally.
This is a good idea to do no matter what you guys choose. 6 Months would probably deter a fair few people.QUOTE (Zombo @ Jun 25 2008, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>- In addition, people with a high post count are already well established in the community and so are already less likely to change.
I haven't heard of a couple of the people who are on the front page of Top 20 posters. Not all people who have heaps of posts are well established. This might encourage even more spammers though.QUOTE (Zombo @ Jun 25 2008, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>- Name changes must be requested to an administrator: this is similar to the UCPSB system. Name changes must be approved and made by an admin. This can be annoying for the administrators, therefore only serious changes will be considered. The disadvantage is that it puts additional workload for admins.
This is a good idea. Instead of you guys doing it, you could appoint a member to do it and then at the end of the week they send you a list of all the names that they think should be changed.I'm not sure, just a suggestion.
By The Way, for the members who don't know, Tim (UPSB) = Timbo (UCPSB)
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Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 13:12:04
I don't want to increase the number of posts required, 'cause a lot of member will spam the board.
But I think it's good to combine :
"Increase the time period (once/6months, once/year)" ---> One year
and "Name changes must be requested to a moderator" -
Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 14:49:50
Okay I reapeat, this is stupid to permit a user to change his name after he got a reputation, beacause all his reputation will be lost.
Name changes should be permittedonly in the early days of the account, beacause the guy doesn't have a reputation.
Anyways I think that name changes should be possible all the time with the go-ahead of a mederator. -
Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 17:38:36
Definitely mod controlled. If someone isn't happy with his name and really wants to change it then he can ask a mod and with a good reason he can have it changed, but other then that name changing just leads to problems, confusion, identity thefts and all that sort of un-needed troubles.
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Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 21:47:46QUOTE (TEK @ Jun 25 2008, 08:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>yah i was thinking the same thing about the name policy
the person is built around their name and if you change it, it makes everything before kinda wierd.
i think we should just babe able to change it maybe once or twice just in case someone messed up on their name when registering or somthing.
i dont think once a month is very good.
what if you wanted to change ur name to TEKKEN King for a little bit?
or what if people started calling you "tech" and it got annoying so you wanted to change it? -
Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 21:52:34QUOTE (Beauty Flower @ Jun 26 2008, 05:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>what if you wanted to change ur name to TEKKEN King for a little bit?
or what if people started calling you "tech" and it got annoying so you wanted to change it?
uh
no matter what his actual name is, ppl will always call him TEK or TEKKEN King.
just like no matter what name Huroni takes, I'll always call him HUroni. -
Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 22:15:12QUOTE (Zombo @ Jun 26 2008, 02:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>uh
no matter what his actual name is, ppl will always call him TEK or TEKKEN King.
just like no matter what name Huroni takes, I'll always call him HUroni.
if tek changed his name to tekken king....new people wouldnt call him TEK...unles saw otehr ppl calling him it.. -
Date: Thu, Jun 26 2008 22:27:28
Request to moderators in combination with longer time span.
Increasing the number of posts required to that much would just take away most of the function, since people who are already that well known probably are less likely to change their name. Though, when they have that many posts, they wouldn't change their names for teh lulz like others do.
Requesting namechange to mods would keep people from changing their nick just for a joke. I guess this would be what we want, but combining this with more time between namechanges (to prevent people from taking it lightly) and a higher required number of posts (about 100-300) would be ultimate in my opinion. -
Date: Fri, Jun 27 2008 00:49:53
I seriously don't know who is who anymore.
I think we should have mod approval only for name changes and also crack down on people with multiple accounts *cough*Icepray*cough*. It's all just confusing.
Seriously, Huroni = inotuh Someone = NaDa and Duckrus = Sangara God only knows who else has been changing their names. It's hard to keep track. -
Date: Fri, Jun 27 2008 16:23:34
This is a similar method to what one of the online games i play uses:
-no time requirement on when you are allowed to change your name
-you may only change your name once every 6 months, but you may revert back to your old name at any time
-someone can only take your old name after the 6 months have expired and you have not reverted back to your old name -
Date: Fri, Jun 27 2008 22:33:59
hmm i like the idea of having to ask a moderator to get our name changed but honestly i dont care
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Date: Fri, Jun 27 2008 23:44:37
ti dont see why it is such a big deal. an online name is nothing. your real name on the otherhand.....
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Date: Sat, Jun 28 2008 21:26:23
I'd have to go with longer time period. Although I do agree with mod request, just not fully.
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Date: Mon, Jun 30 2008 01:16:16
i dont mind how the name change system works right now, but if it were changed, i think moderator request would work best.
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Date: Mon, Jun 30 2008 08:49:18
I do not like the idea, that after 800-1000 post you can change your name, because of two things:
1. There will be much spamming even if it's bannable.
2. Then not so many people want to change their name, because after so many posts they will be "known"...
I don't like the idea with 6-12 months, because then a person witha "bad" name, who wants to change it, will probably be inactive for the period...Of course not everybody will do it, but I think some will be inactive for the period.
So I suggest:
1. Make the 800-1000 post much less to maybe about 100-200 and then you can only change your name only once not twice.
2. Only to ask a moderator. -
Date: Mon, Jun 30 2008 16:07:43
I think if you only want to make a small change like capitalize or uncapitalize a letter ( like I did) or change a number to a letter (el d3al or w/e it was to el deal) that you should just ask a mod to do it and that time or post count doesn't matter, but if it is a completely different name that should have some sort of limit.
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Date: Mon, Jun 30 2008 18:00:00
mod approval should be the way to go.
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Date: Wed, Jul 2 2008 18:28:43
it's been one week.
the staff will now discuss the issue to reach a decision.