Username Themes

[Mitsuki]

We can easily hover over a username if we don't know who they are.

There is that, yes. But when it comes to actually PMing a member or looking up someone's information via the ACP/MCP for whatever reason, if a member had recently changed his or her username, the staff will have a hard time tracking down that particular member if they do not know what username they are going by...unless of course they start to click on random members' profiles via Statistics or Who's Been Online list. And if that member happens to be not available in that list, then I suppose we could start asking around in the SB and see if anyone knows where in the world Carmen is if we're that desperate.

On a more serious note, I still do run into that problem even with the name restrictions. Giving everyone the freedom to change their usernames whenever they can (on a daily basis) would be out of the question.

 

[Donald Trump]

But is 60 days necessary?

 

[Mitsuki]

No. It's just a number. Is changing usernames frequently really necessary?

We can discuss this nonstop, but things are set up the way they are for a good reason, and whether the members agree with it or not, that's understandable, can't please both sides. But the compromise is still there, no matter how one side looks at it.

 

[Channizard]

Hrm... But what is the compromise then? What were the restrictions for name changing before this 30/60/90 day thing was implemented?

I just gotta say 90 days is pretty long. Especially, considering there are maybe only a handful of 'Full Members' who don't post at least once a week, and some would probably be considered Veterens, minus being here a whole year and being short maybe a hundred posts. It just seems a bit much for some who are actually active members that may not be Veterens, but definitely more than just a 'Full member'.

 

[Mitsuki]

30/60/90 days versus not being able to change usernames at all or maybe even setting it once to every 6 months. That sort of compromise. (But don't take me seriously on this, I'm just giving an example). And I don't exactly remember the setup previously, perhaps another staff member can answer this for us since my memory fails me. But I know we changed it a few times in the past already, and finally went with that. In all honesty there wouldn't be username restrictions if it weren't giving us any problems or confusion.

And I'm actually okay with reducing the Full Members' limit to 60, but I'd have to see what BustaMo will say about that. Either way, 60 or 90, it doesn't matter to me as long as there is a restriction limit.

 

[Six]

I honestly don't see the big deal in changing names and having to wait.

First of all it's confusing if everyone changes their name every other day, (yes, some people will). They can't just decide on a nice name and stick with it for a while, kinda like he themes, everyone turns into a damn moogle, and you just gotta have the memory to remember who's who. @.@ It's frustrating.

I think the 90 days stands right. In all honestly it's only three months, which isn't that long of a time to stick with a name. I mean geez. =/ How many names do you wanna be known by?

Rawr.

 

[Oliver Queen]

Seriously though guys, you should all be lucky that you even have the option to change your username. I know some places that don't have that and those people hate it. Even if I had to wait for 6 months to change it, it wouldn't bother me because A) I don't really change my name that often and B) the option to do it is STILL there. Like Mitsuki said, its only a number as to how long you wait to change the name.

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

Imokaywiththis.jpg

Seriously, names change around here a lot. It's somewhat annoying to get on, and find that half the forum is now using a different name, and I have to open their profile to see who they are. With themes, I would be doing this every two weeks. Also, I really, really, didn't like the concept of a FFX theme. However, I'm REALLY, FUCKING REALLY not okay with having a FFX theme for 2-3 months.

Also, I'm with CK on this one. You guys should be happy that the option is even there. This is the only forum I know of (besides 4chan) that lets you change your username at all. With other forums, it's a one shot deal. You pick a name, and you deal with it... Permanently. No second chances, no themes, nothing of the sort. So you should really embrace the fact that you have the option to change them.

2-3 Months is a very small price to pay for having the option. And I, for one, am happy that this has been implemented. So thank you, Busta and Mits. <3

 

[Donald Trump]

Seriously though guys, you should all be lucky that you even have the option to change your username. I know some places that don't have that and those people hate it

That you can get stoned to death in some countries for adultery is equally relevant.
I understand the difficulties involved in username changes etc, I'm not trying to have no restrictions. Very briefly there were restrictions for about a week for vets.
All I would like is for it to be considered changing the restriction on Veteran Members, down to 30 or 45 days or something like that.
Not only are almost all vets pretty much instantly recognisable due to the fact that we've been here for years, almost all vets can be found in the first page of statistics. Which would mean that even if you didn't know who was who, it would take only a couple of seconds to find out.

 

[blakstang98]

Honestly, I'm glad that themes are getting axed. Some names were just changing way too frequently, and it was annoying. I understand people have fun with it, but I just think the themes happened too frequently. Maybe like twice a year would be good, but the possibility of twice in a month, every month was a bit much.

It does suck for the members that enjoy changing their name frequently though. Unfortunately, I do think it's better this way though.

 

[Channizard]

Seriously though guys, you should all be lucky that you even have the option to change your username. I know some places that don't have that and those people hate it.

Also, I'm with CK on this one. You guys should be happy that the option is even there. This is the only forum I know of (besides 4chan) that lets you change your username at all. With other forums, it's a one shot deal. You pick a name, and you deal with it... Permanently. No second chances, no themes, nothing of the sort. So you should really embrace the fact that you have the option to change them.

Okay, but I know of quite a few FF forums that allow frequent name changes. What does the business of what other forums do, have to do what the staff does here?

I'm not suggesting that the limits be abolished completely,I'm just saying maybe be a bit more liberal with it. Ways to combat the trouble of who's who? The AKA Field in the post bit (available via update), or open up a thread in a non-post count section where people request name changes. That way it's viewable to the public who asked for what. Most of the aforementioned forums did things that way.

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

It's meant simply to let people know that if anything, they have it better here than they would anywhere else. That's it really. They should be lucky that we're able to change them at all, rather than not having the privilege to do so.

All in all, count your blessings, be thankful, blah blah blah, etc. etc.

 

[CassinoChips]

Okay, but I know of quite a few FF forums that allow frequent name changes. What does the business of what other forums do, have to do what the staff does here?

Comparison.

I'm not suggesting that the limits be abolished completely,I'm just saying maybe be a bit more liberal with it.

Why? If it's dropped to 60, then people would want it down to 45 (like Hal does). Then it'll want to be dropped to 30. And so on.

Ways to combat the trouble of who's who? The AKA Field in the post bit (available via update), or open up a thread in a non-post count section where people request name changes. That way it's viewable to the public who asked for what. Most of the aforementioned forums did things that way.

That's how it was up until about 2 months ago. It didn't create less work for the Admins, which is the issue.

 

[Mitsuki]

Here is the 2nd username thread which was closed for obvious reasons. xD

http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/zanarkand-ruins/username-change-thread-29765.html

Bottom line is, since people can change their own usernames in the first place, they shouldn't be requesting a name change if they don't have the option to do so, period. But as you can see, people requested anyway even after so many explanations. (But some requests were to be expected due to the themes and the complications it brought). So since we've made it firmly clear that unless people are experiencing problem with name changes for some odd reason, they can PM us and there would be no need for that thread to remain open anymore.

 

[Busta]

Hrm... But what is the compromise then? What were the restrictions for name changing before this 30/60/90 day thing was implemented?

It used to be 6 months. For everyone.

 

[Channizard]

Six months? Holy crap.

That's how it was up until about 2 months ago. It didn't create less work for the Admins, which is the issue.

Yeah... I can understand how it would leave to that.

Why? If it's dropped to 60, then people would want it down to 45 (like Hal does). Then it'll want to be dropped to 30. And so on.

Here is the 2nd username thread which was closed for obvious reasons. xD

http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/zanarkand-ruins/username-change-thread-29765.html

Bottom line is, since people can change their own usernames in the first place, they shouldn't be requesting a name change if they don't have the option to do so, period. But as you can see, people requested anyway even after so many explanations. (But some requests were to be expected due to the themes and the complications it brought). So since we've made it firmly clear that unless people are experiencing problem with name changes for some odd reason, they can PM us and there would be no need for that thread to remain open anymore.

Alright, I see what you mean. I guess it wasn't such a big deal on past forums I've been to... probably because there were maybe 25-50 active active members on the forum, compared to FFF.

And after just reading the first page of that thread, I can only imagine how frustrating the next 47 pages must have been.

 

[Oliver Queen]

Yeah, when there's only 50 or so active members, them changing their names is not a big deal, since the number is so small.

On here, where there's who knows how many, it gets really confusing, and when we try to organize it, it doesn't work.

 

[Donald Trump]

Why? If it's dropped to 60, then people would want it down to 45 (like Hal does). Then it'll want to be dropped to 30. And so on.

I don't want it for everyone, just for Veterans, for the reasons I stated.

 

[Busta]

Here's how it looks to me. Changing names is nothing bad. Overall we don't want to sound like the of course everyone's favorite phrase "Nazi Mods/Admins", because in actuality name changes are just a part of the fun on a site. Who's it hurt right? No one. It's a fun feature, but what we're saying is that it has to be controlled.

Channy mentions about limits and would it be so bad if there weren't any limits? No, not really, but it would be a royal pain in the dick if people were changing their names every day, heck even every week. Staff changes used to be at 14 and that bugged me because that was way too often as well. Sure I could go look at past history and usernames in the profile, but when it's every other week or just about that, it's more hassle than enjoyable when you don't even know who you're talking to or replying to on the site.

All I'm saying is, I know peope like Hal and Channy would like to see a lower date set for that. I'm not singling you 2 out because both of you are awesome members, it's just that you 2 seem to show the most passion about this issue so you two deserve the answers to the questions being brought up. I honestly believe that Staff should keep their name changes more stable than anyone else since they are the one's people go to for help and are recognized as maintaining the boards so I can see where there should be no difference between the Staff and Vet name change # of days. I understand where as the Vet Status should get you some privileges of having a more frequent name change date than new usergroups. (which they do by 30 days)

All I'm saying is that while the name change is a popular feature that many people on this site use, there has to be a control on it. Too much of a good thing never works out well. It's not because we're trying to be dicks, or Nazi mods/admins. Over the years we took the 6 months # which seemed fairly high, cut it down by around 2/3 since we have a lot of Vet members now, and I think that's a fair and decent move to have gone to. It's not that long, but it's long enough for someone to build an identity with their current username before going and switching to something else.

 

[Channizard]

I'm not even entirely sure why I'm making a huge deal out of this, tbph.

I've been around (HAHA shut up)... other FF and General Chat/Spammy forums, and name changes were never an issue. Then again, this identity crisis issue was combated by a higher vb updated website, which allowed for more font colours/fonts for personalization, an AKA field (which was a mandatory thing to keep updated if you changed you name all willy nilly) and customizable post bits. By looking at a post bit that had teal Bolded words and then orange information, you could instantly tell that it was so and so.

I by no means think of you as Nazi Staff, because frankly there are a lot worse off things the lot of you could be doing, such as just up and closing the thread with a last minute post saying "This is what we decided, so suck it up"... because I have seen that done before on other fora's.

The fact that you guys are actually bothering to type out these long winded explanations to me and Hal while we won't just stfu is amazing really. The lot of you have the patience of saints, mostly Mitsuki (though that may be the child you have, children often allow us to tolerate others a lot more easily ).

Then again, this is all coming from someone who has been around for a month and a half. Taking this into account that you guys are even listening to my opinions without, again, closing the thread with a reason like "You don't know shit n00b", is again, nothing short of amazing.

So I shall finish this tl;dr by going to bed, and saying that I concede defeat on the Username change topic for now. If it happens to come up in another thread, I'll probably jump in again to make a case if there is a majority, but I don't think I'll be making a fuss over this in this thread any more. Not that it ever was a fuss to begin with.

The only thing I want to stand by, is that maybe 'Full Members' be given a slightly lower number of days to wait... (For Vets it's what... 60? Or is that 30?) So maybe.. 75? I'm not sure, I'm actually still a bit hazy on who gets the 30/60/90 days per user group...