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Signal does weird stuff sometimes. For a while it has been bugging me to add a last name with the only options are either to add one or to “remind me later.” An

Signal does weird stuff sometimes. For a while it has been bugging me to add a last name with the only options are either to add one or to “remind me later.” And they of course never forget to remind you again and again, week in and week out. Until I eventually succumb and add one I guess? Not sure what their angle is.

SkyMarshal 6y ago
Just lie? Be “Steven X”, or “Steven DotCom”, or something. If your contacts wont be too confused, use a fake real last name like “Steven Neiderhoffer”. I lie about any personal information I can online, thought that was SOP these days. Taint your data.
- stevenjohns 6y ago
  I actually have a particular use case for not adding one - as a running joke I changed my Signal name to the screen name of a buddy that went AWOL. Adding a last name doesn’t work in this model. So it’s not just about not wanting to share information, but it ruins a joke in the group chat I primarily use Signal for :/ To top it off, it specifically says it’s optional. But you get reminded every week to add one... but it’s totally optional.
- dafoex 6y ago
  As a possible extension to the "real fake" names, may I suggest some derivative of "P. A. Chapeau"? There is method to my madness as this name in particular is a pun on the french for "tinfoil hat" (that is, "papier aluminium chapeau", or more accurately "chapeau de papier d'aluminium").
benhurmarcel 6y ago
For the record it's not the case anymore. Now the last name is labelled "Optional".
- stevenjohns 6y ago
  Still very much the case, it’s always been “optional” but you can’t opt out of being bugged to add one over and over https://imgur.com/a/5JzEnTI https://imgur.com/a/5JzEnTI
  - haffenloher 6y ago
    Weird, I don't remember ever seeing that and I don't have a last name set. Can't you just "confirm" it not to include a last name?
  - whycombagator 6y ago
    What happens if you click "Get Started" (and take no action after doing so, just return home) - does that dismiss further prompts?
  - benhurmarcel 6y ago
    Weird, I don't have that. You can try to add a "last name", and then remove it. I think I put an initial at some point.
AnonC 6y ago
If you’re on GitHub, raise an issue about this and point them to “Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names” [1]. They could use at least some lessons from it. [1]: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-...
- vonseel 6y ago
  Hmm, I just got around to reading this tab after opening it several hours ago and can't help but feel like this guy is overthinking this way too much. If a person wants to have a first/last name structure in their app/db, fine, let him. Make one of the names optional in the database and only fill it when the submitted data looks like a first/last name structure. Add properties to your model to return whatever you need to display. Some of the things in his list sound like particularly interesting stories, like why he's talking about when a person's name is assigned at birth or 5 years later (what piece of code needs to reference that? why would an app ever need to know that unless it's checking if a person has ever changed their name? Any programmer who can tie his own shoes will know names aren't unique. Ever. Most of the rest of them just make me wonder "why would that ever be an issue???". And oddly, several of them make me think of "hmm, that reminds me of that bug X..." scenarios, none of which were problems with naming, just general programming bug scenarios like forgetting a database comparison on your DB of choice isn't case-sensitive, things like that.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - galoisgirl 6y ago
    Some of them are definitely here to fill the list, but some problems are alive and well. The Scunthorpe problem. Indonesian single names. My friend whom Windows made a home directory based on his name, with an "Ł", and many apps can't handle it. But yeah, it'd be way better if the author gave specific examples of problems, instead of inflating the list with shocking revelations like there's more than one John Smith.
vonseel 6y ago
It is a strange move for a company that takes user data and privacy so seriously to require last name in their user model. I've been using Telegram sometimes with friends and also found it weird how incredibly difficult it is to find where to enter a username in the app to add someone, instead of their phone number. I thought it was supposed to be a super secure messenger, shouldn't secure go hand-in-hand with anonymity? It doesn't have to, but it can be.
- KMnO4 6y ago
  Though Telegram has E2EE chats, they are not enabled by default. I wouldn’t consider it super secure.
- brian_herman__ 6y ago
  My signal doesn’t require my last name though I’m on iOS https://imgur.com/a/VTdTLv5 https://imgur.com/a/VTdTLv5

SkyMarshal 6y ago

Just lie? Be “Steven X”, or “Steven DotCom”, or something. If your contacts wont be too confused, use a fake real last name like “Steven Neiderhoffer”. I lie about any personal information I can online, thought that was SOP these days. Taint your data.

stevenjohns 6y ago
I actually have a particular use case for not adding one - as a running joke I changed my Signal name to the screen name of a buddy that went AWOL. Adding a last name doesn’t work in this model. So it’s not just about not wanting to share information, but it ruins a joke in the group chat I primarily use Signal for :/ To top it off, it specifically says it’s optional. But you get reminded every week to add one... but it’s totally optional.
dafoex 6y ago
As a possible extension to the "real fake" names, may I suggest some derivative of "P. A. Chapeau"? There is method to my madness as this name in particular is a pun on the french for "tinfoil hat" (that is, "papier aluminium chapeau", or more accurately "chapeau de papier d'aluminium").

benhurmarcel 6y ago

For the record it's not the case anymore. Now the last name is labelled "Optional".

stevenjohns 6y ago
Still very much the case, it’s always been “optional” but you can’t opt out of being bugged to add one over and over https://imgur.com/a/5JzEnTI https://imgur.com/a/5JzEnTI
- haffenloher 6y ago
  Weird, I don't remember ever seeing that and I don't have a last name set. Can't you just "confirm" it not to include a last name?
- whycombagator 6y ago
  What happens if you click "Get Started" (and take no action after doing so, just return home) - does that dismiss further prompts?
- benhurmarcel 6y ago
  Weird, I don't have that. You can try to add a "last name", and then remove it. I think I put an initial at some point.

AnonC 6y ago

If you’re on GitHub, raise an issue about this and point them to “Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names” [1]. They could use at least some lessons from it. [1]: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-...

vonseel 6y ago
Hmm, I just got around to reading this tab after opening it several hours ago and can't help but feel like this guy is overthinking this way too much. If a person wants to have a first/last name structure in their app/db, fine, let him. Make one of the names optional in the database and only fill it when the submitted data looks like a first/last name structure. Add properties to your model to return whatever you need to display. Some of the things in his list sound like particularly interesting stories, like why he's talking about when a person's name is assigned at birth or 5 years later (what piece of code needs to reference that? why would an app ever need to know that unless it's checking if a person has ever changed their name? Any programmer who can tie his own shoes will know names aren't unique. Ever. Most of the rest of them just make me wonder "why would that ever be an issue???". And oddly, several of them make me think of "hmm, that reminds me of that bug X..." scenarios, none of which were problems with naming, just general programming bug scenarios like forgetting a database comparison on your DB of choice isn't case-sensitive, things like that.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- galoisgirl 6y ago
  Some of them are definitely here to fill the list, but some problems are alive and well. The Scunthorpe problem. Indonesian single names. My friend whom Windows made a home directory based on his name, with an "Ł", and many apps can't handle it. But yeah, it'd be way better if the author gave specific examples of problems, instead of inflating the list with shocking revelations like there's more than one John Smith.

vonseel 6y ago

It is a strange move for a company that takes user data and privacy so seriously to require last name in their user model. I've been using Telegram sometimes with friends and also found it weird how incredibly difficult it is to find where to enter a username in the app to add someone, instead of their phone number. I thought it was supposed to be a super secure messenger, shouldn't secure go hand-in-hand with anonymity? It doesn't have to, but it can be.

KMnO4 6y ago
Though Telegram has E2EE chats, they are not enabled by default. I wouldn’t consider it super secure.
brian_herman__ 6y ago
My signal doesn’t require my last name though I’m on iOS https://imgur.com/a/VTdTLv5 https://imgur.com/a/VTdTLv5