I would vote for making things permanent because the name change thing kind of is abused already and like you said, it would create dead link issues later on.

I think you should allow user to change their name but with administive notice. You know, when they reach to level 12 for example and they didn't like their name, they would have to delete their account and recreate a new one which it would mess them up big time. So I would suggest that you should allow user to change their name but you may wanted to report automaticly so they could not hide. Is my info good enough?

At 11/6/06 08:37 PM, TommyTheMachineGunn wrote: Why can't we just have pages based on our user id?

I prefer that option

I don't. Personally, I want my page to be as simple to access and remember as possible. Its the same concept behind domain names. Large corperations would take a huge blow if people had to enter a sequence of 10 numbers to access their site.

Hey Tom, I understand that you could possibly lockdown our names. If this DOES occur, could you make a big post giving us a week or two to get the name we want for our URL?

-SuperDrummer146-

You could make a set URL, and users could maybe have a display name. So that way, users can keep the name changing thing, and it wouldn't generate any dead links.

Hell, if I got a page called milinko959.newgrounds.com I would be hella happy. If that is the case lock me down!

I agree with most people here and like the idea of having a set name for your page, but be able to change your username. I dont personally feel im ever going to, but even if I dont its nice to have that option available.

Im not against the lockdown if it needs to be done though.

At 11/6/06 08:36 PM, Vengeance wrote: you could save all name-changes for one month in a database and if that URL is called then have a redirect after 5 seconds with a message saying the page has moved.

This is under consideration too, but several problems are:

1) Does it lock the name while it's a pointer, or an another user take the name?
2) Is there a limit to how many times you can change your name and thus how many pointers you can create?

When do you think we will have this "lockdown"? Can you allow the users to change their names after notification with permission or something for the first few days?

Questions, questions. Now, I don't wanna have LordTrunks as my alias forever, it's getting old and stupid. So, I'd rather get my arse up and think up a new alias...

At 11/6/06 08:39 PM, MrMonopoly wrote: You should make it so the user must PM you to request an alias change.

Wouldn't that be wonderful. :)

Do you use Apache? Would mod rewrite offer a (inelegant) solution?

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_rewr ite.html

At 11/6/06 08:40 PM, seventy-one wrote: I'm not knowledgeable about programming. But couldn't you route the name to the id's. For example, when you type in espn.com, it automatically routes to the actual URL espn.go.com. Couldn't this be done with any name that is identified with one particular id?

Yes, we could build a system that recognizes user page URLs and stores them as the associated ID, then renders it as the current user page URL to the screen when referenced. However, this would create a TON of overhead in the forums and would not be able to solve external links from other sites going to outdated user pages.

Have two names, a user name and a display name:

username.newgrounds.com
www.newgrounds.com/?target=displayname

I have a new idea, how about allow them to change their name but with limited of time such as you can only change your name 3 time or something. I think it would be better. Would you thinks so?

Will we ever be able to again?

At 11/6/06 08:45 PM, xJim wrote: Do you use Apache? Would mod rewrite offer a (inelegant) solution?

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_rewr ite.html

I would assume they're going to use mod_rewrite for the dynamic sub domains but it doesn't really have anything to do with this dilemma.

Personally, I don't change my name (Although I went through many early on.) and it wouldn't affect me, I stuck with _matt_ since early 04 and Matt after the 'username clean up.' But I guess a good reason of why it would be 'important' to keep the ability to change around is special occasions (Prime example: Obviously right now I am DeathMuffin, in honor of the birth of the muffin crew 2 years ago.) and uncertainty upon registering. What I'm saying is I started out with "mack8354", and looking back it's a crappy name and had I been forced to stick with it this account wouldn't be very active today, sure I may have gone ahead and made a new account, but most newer users most likely wouldn't have the determination to do so. Moving right along, It's definitely not necessary to change your name during the holidays, but it causes the userbase to be more interactive and have more fun, that's about it.

Agggh, I don't really know. As long as people do not abuse the ability I don't suppose it would make the site too sloppy, but then again taking it away wouldn't really affect me personally so I may be a bit biased.

I would rather have user pages than not being able to change my name.

those dam dilemas

At 11/6/06 08:26 PM, TomFulp wrote: We've been faced with a dilemma for a while now that doesn't have any great solution. With the eventual introduction of user pages, user URLs will become much more prominent destinations. For example, I'm hoping lots of people will check out tomfulp.newgrounds.com once it comes into existence. :)

The question is... Do we allow users to change their names at this point? If you change your name, you are essentially changing your URL, meaning all existing links to your page will become dead links.

It has never been a problem in the past because the profile URL is based on your unique ID #. Since user pages will be tied to your name, the only option is to make your name a permanent identifier, otherwise users could create dead links at will and it would make the site a lot less organized over time.

I get this bad feeling that people will totally freak out at the thought of not being able to change their names. Plenty of sites already don't allow you to change your name, but people are accustomed to the option here on NG. Then again, are name changes really necessary or is it a feature that people abuse in the first place?

Consider this post a sort of heads up... There's a chance your name might go on lockdown, so be sure it's the name you want to have. This is also a chance for everyone to share their opinions concerning this course of action. Go for it.

How bout insert an option into the bbs to insert a username link and it will link to a username ID of your choice and won't have to count on the username itself? That won't really work though because it's more convenient just to do www.starogre.newgrounds.com :/

Ah well, I don't really care, people don't need to change their name, however, they should still be given the option to use their full name rather than username for bbs posting or flash authorship. Like, if I decided to use 'Jon' instead of 'Starogre' now, my page would still remain to be www.starogre.newgrounds.com but my name would show up as jon. I donno, that may be confusing to people who want to link to your profile without having to test what they are linking to.

At 11/6/06 08:31 PM, MuyBurrito wrote: Would it be possible to give users a "Display Name" that can be changed as the username is changed under the current system, while locking down an official "Account Name" which is tied directly to user pages?

I like this idea. It works on sites such as MySpace. You have a set page name, which never changes, but you have the ability to change the display name.

Basically I'm rambling in the hopes that the more times this is posted in this thread, the greater chance Tom will see.

I suppose that this change is fine. Maybe you could allow users a one-time-only change that they could use, that way there would be only one possible dead link for each person? Either way I like my name and if I really wanted a new one I could leave this behind. Go for it.

I cant wait to see bigfatblackcocks.newgrounds.com

Oh yes.

That will be a special day.

At 11/6/06 08:37 PM, TommyTheMachineGunn wrote: Why can't we just have pages based on our user id?

I prefer that option

exactly what i thought when i saw this...

Its logical to simply use our unique ID #
its like a mac address as compared to an ip, so what the hell is the problem?

This whole 'dilemma' seems like a load of wank to me....

At 11/6/06 08:31 PM, MuyBurrito wrote: Would it be possible to give users a "Display Name" that can be changed as the username is changed under the current system, while locking down an official "Account Name" which is tied directly to user pages?

Obviously, this could be a whole lot more in-depth, but is that something that is under consideration?

Sounds like a plan to me, and there's other sites that have that feature. How much strain would that put on the database?

While I don't change my name that much, I do see where people, especially people with newer sign ups, would make multiple accounts until they got a name they liked. You might also run in to problems with people squatting on account names just so they could have the profile URL's.

At 11/6/06 08:35 PM, FIGMENTUM wrote: Wouldn't it be simpler to have the users choose what their domain name would be, and keep everything else as is? Kinda like how myspace does it.

OH NO NOW I'VE GONE AND DONE IT. WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING THAT SITE DOES BECAUSE IT'S EVIL GUYS DSNHGJHASDKGJH

It's a golden idea, regardless of who patented it.

I don't see a point in name changing. but... I've been using this name since 3rd grade

im keeping mine so go for it

what about having a display name and a user name

the user name is what you log in with, the display name is what appears in the bbs, portal, profile, etc.... kinda like an addition to your 'real name' and no need for formatting restrictions.

When first implemented you could just make all the default values equal to the username.

At 11/6/06 08:46 PM, OldGust wrote: Have two names, a user name and a display name:

username.newgrounds.com
www.newgrounds.com/?target=displayname

That seems like the most logical solution to me...