"...time-limited (once a year, or so). Our profile pages could list previous aliases in an FKA list so that you could tell who others were."

Dunecat, we all know you step on kittens and run over old ladies, changing your name won't hide that.

Dunecat, you just know some 'clever' person is going to change their id to match a high profile player just as soon as they can (or some variant thereof). Imagine Dunecat vs dunecat vs dune cat vs dUnecat vs DUNECAT vs dune_cat vs DingeberryJones for confusion...

It's a multi!!!!!

hahahahahahahaha, can you even imagine the chaos that would ensue????

If you really want a new name, just tell the mods to ban your current account, then you can create a new one, and there's your new name.

You must realize his idea is better than that. For instance, you made a typing error but have played and won dagger in the mean time. Why, if you wanted to change your name, should you start over with 100 D again, without any status?

Because you can reinvent yourself however you want, without your track record or people's memories of you coming up in every game you play in.

I think the better option is for having anonymous games where no one knows the other people playing...

Ah - tactical name changes 'No, I'm not Pete U - he went CD. You had an alliance you say....'

LOL @ lulzworth, that's awesome.

Keep in mind that your profile would have a list of all the aliases you've ever had, and it'd be time-limited to about once a year, so people couldn't do it often. And like Ursa said, you wouldn't want to give up your points if you had an established account, so you wouldn't want to close your first account and open a new one.

Other rules that could make it work better would be the following, although you wouldn't necessarily implement all of them:

1. You can't join and then instantly change your name, you have to be a member for a year before you can make the request. In effect, the only people requesting name changes would be veteran players with a vested interest in their points and reputations.
2. Give the name change a price (either set, like 100 points, or on a sliding scale, like 10% of your current points, including those tied up in games). You can only make the request if you have enough points open. This discourages username horseplay.
3. Automatically disallow clone accounts. Simple permutations of current account names would be disallowed, e.g. fortknox2, vamosramstein, jman778, Dingleberry Jones (note the space), etc. Currently, someone could make a new account with any of those names, and I'm not sure how the mods would handle it. It might be difficult to enforce, unless...
4. Publicly present each name change request in the forum so that users can voice concerns and complain pre-emptively. If someone named Dunecat decides sand-burrowing is passé and instead wants to become GordonFremen instead (get it?), anyone would have the opportunity to speak up in objection in case there were a player named Gordon Freeman, for example.
5. Require moderator approval. You can only request a change, and it's entirely up to the discretion (and whims) of the mods. If anyone tried to change his name to lulzworth2, they could deny it, and whoops, you just wasted your annual attempt. Hell, they could even deny changes they just didn't like.

I think any combination of the above rules would keep it under control.

Wow, that's a whole lot of rules and a whole lot of code for something that really doesn't add that much to the site.

Damn me!!!!!!!!!!

I will stop leaving gryncat's account online.

or you could just coerce other people into letting you "sit" their account and then post things under both names... :P

Anonymous option for games is by far the easier way to go about this. If you really want a new name, suck it up and abandon your old record. ={D

That was an accidental moustache... but I have no regrets!

Moustaches are awesome, though!

@ Jacob: Yes, that would probably work. But people might think you have a multiple personality disorder if they know about it and see you arguing with yourself all the time.

Eh, I love the idea of an anonymous game mode, but that has nothing to do with this at all. The point of allowing username changes isn't to hide who you are, or who you've been. The point is to have a different username. That's all.

Dunecat, did you read the rules you suggested? When is coding for all (or any) of that worth the simple privilege of changing your username.

If it's so urgent a matter, you can finish out the games in your account, inform a moderator, create a new account, and have your old one banned.

Nah, it's no biggie. I just wanted to be clear what the purpose of this was. If it's not worth it, it's not worth it.

And while I couldn't say changing my username is worth losing all my points, reputation, and record, I appreciate that the mods would let me open a new account if I were so inclined!

What about really minor alterations? Say, for example, you intended your name to signify some kind of ancient rank in some empire somewhere, but you accidentally misspelled it...

Hahahaha

I agree with Chrispminis, it's possible to do it currently if you REALLY wanted too & if it were easy every tom would be dick and then 'arry & old duffers like me would be always wondering if "Lola" used to be Larry & performance issues would blight my life. I understand Centurions dillemma but it emphasises the need for precision. I bet we all have a void order from the old days of pen & paper that still haunts us, those of us who used to play that way in the dim distant past. I suppose the modern world will inevitably inflict a reality tv makeover show upon us where underperforming chaps, like m'self are repackaged, a nip here & a tuck there and whizz bang I can play Italy & win the game whilst texting a lot of gobbledegook masquerading as a language to thirtyseven people. It would'nt be cricket old bean & neither were some of those catches at Lords. The world's changed with the loss of corporal punishment & national service.

I don't know. I kinda would like to change my name. I have been considering finishing my games, deleting my account (however you would do that) and making a new one just to get the name I have in mind.
See, my name is just my name (in a way). I mean, it's not my "christian" name, but it has been my name for a long time. But, some of the players have really cool names on here, and, being a WOW player, I have a thing for cool names.
Don't even ask.. no way I tell you what my awesome name would be. Then one of you jokers would steal it from me. :)
I hate the point loss and the stat loss, tho. I'm a big fan of profiles. Good or bad. That's my story, you know? That's who I am..

@Major, that was either excellent or neurotic. I applaud your effort either way.

As long as I'm posting, I'll try to add a vaguely useful comment: Being the forum junkie that I am, name changes are rarely a good thing. Confusing at best, deceitful at worst, and it always leads to wailing and gnashing of teeth. And there are definitely some folks here I want to identify if they ever appear on my borders.

@NPRZ "Confusing at best, deceitful at worst, and it always leads to wailing and gnashing of teeth"

and therefore PERFECT for Diplomacy :)

I was hoping nobody would make that connection. :)

In that case, we should be able to change names in-game only. Ha!