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Usernames changing is important in a world where peoples' identities change. People transition and might not want a username based on their deadname. People ge

Usernames changing is important in a world where peoples' identities change. People transition and might not want a username based on their deadname. People get married or divorced and change their legal name, which can have ramifications on their usernames. People might just get older, and lose significance of old pseudonyms.

logicallee 7y ago
do you think hackernews should allow people to change their username?
- Groxx 7y ago
  if throwaway346392834 wants to become their normal username, sure. why not. of course it can be used for abuse - so show the old values next to it / on their user page / etc. allow N changes / limit the frequency. etc.
  - logicallee 7y ago
    >so show the old values next to it this would remove one of the reasons cited: "People transition and might not want a username based on their deadname." (People go to great lengths to remove references to their "deadname" and consider any mention of it seriously offensive.) However, despite my downvotes (-4) I am unconvinced by that argument and the other replies. I don't think it's important to do this at all.
    - eridius 7y ago
      You've acknowledged that people transitioning is a huge motivation to change username, and yet say you aren't convinced. Why not? What's the benefit to not allowing usernames to change?
      - logicallee 7y ago
        if allowing a change in username, do you think you should or shouldn't make visible a list of past usernames somewhere?
        lilyball 7y ago
        People change usernames because they don't want to be associated with their old username anymore. We shouldn't force anyone to retain that association unless it's overwhelmingly in the public interest to do so. On sites with open user registration I can't think of any possible justification for that. It's only sites with closed userbases where you'd even be able to begin arguing for this, and even there I don't know what argument you could use that would justify it.

logicallee 7y ago

do you think hackernews should allow people to change their username?

Groxx 7y ago
if throwaway346392834 wants to become their normal username, sure. why not. of course it can be used for abuse - so show the old values next to it / on their user page / etc. allow N changes / limit the frequency. etc.
- logicallee 7y ago
  >so show the old values next to it this would remove one of the reasons cited: "People transition and might not want a username based on their deadname." (People go to great lengths to remove references to their "deadname" and consider any mention of it seriously offensive.) However, despite my downvotes (-4) I am unconvinced by that argument and the other replies. I don't think it's important to do this at all.
  - eridius 7y ago
    You've acknowledged that people transitioning is a huge motivation to change username, and yet say you aren't convinced. Why not? What's the benefit to not allowing usernames to change?
    - logicallee 7y ago
      if allowing a change in username, do you think you should or shouldn't make visible a list of past usernames somewhere?
      - lilyball 7y ago
        People change usernames because they don't want to be associated with their old username anymore. We shouldn't force anyone to retain that association unless it's overwhelmingly in the public interest to do so. On sites with open user registration I can't think of any possible justification for that. It's only sites with closed userbases where you'd even be able to begin arguing for this, and even there I don't know what argument you could use that would justify it.