3 ms·
Would it be wrong for HN to ‘retire’ a few usernames, similar to what sporting leagues do? I’m sure the name was chosen for positive reasons. But the guy who c
by WhitneyLand 9y ago
Would it be wrong for HN to ‘retire’ a few usernames, similar to what sporting leagues do?
I’m sure the name was chosen for positive reasons. But the guy who contributed and suffered so much, who used math to help save lives against Hitler, now will have a ghost randomly commenting on html or whatever topic in discussion threads?
I readily acknowledge some of the obvious counterpoints:
- who cares. it’s a username. move along.
- happens all the time with others
- it would require work to add a retired list check and make decisions.
- xtreme 9y agoIf I have the same name as a historical person, should I be barred from using that as an username? While it is unlikely that /u/AlanTuring has that name in real life, the probability of such collisions would become a lot higher if HN decided to block usernames of prominent mathematicians and scientists.
- WhitneyLand 9y agoWould you want to participate as Martin Luther King in a civil rights discussion forum? Personally I would not. Even if it were my real name, I would prefer to choose an alternate. However, I understand your point of view and realize it’s a subjective preference.
- polar 9y agoIt could be his real name. I see that there are around 60 Alan Turings on LinkedIn.