Changing Username

[+JoesBar]

First, let me say that this topic is self serving.

I am considering changning my username. I know how to do that if I can decide on another name. Now my problem is that the name I wish to change to, is already taken. But that individual only has three finds and those are a year and a half old. I contacted GC.com and was told that if a cacher has any finds, than the name still belongs to them. I have attempted twice to contact this user throught the GC site, but I have received no reply.

So, my question is shouldn't there be a way to archive usernames like there are ways to archive caches? Right now, someone can create an account, and claim a username forever. If that cacher drops out of caching for any reason, the username remains theirs. I think that perhaps if a user doesn't log any finds for six months, or some decided period, then there should be an option on that username. I also think that the person should be sent a couple notices to their email to ask if they still are interested in caching. If they don't respond, then that username would become available. What do you all think?

[+webscouter.]

I added a period to the end of the username I wanted. The cacher that used it only has one find. At the time I started using it he hadn't visited in over a year.

[+sbell111]

I think that as long as they have history; whether they hid a cache, found a cache, or posted in the forums, they should retain the name. Unless they agree to give it up, its theirs.

[+Mr. Fantastic]

As far as I know, the person with the same username I have has never found any caches and is not a validated member. I simply put an extra space between the period and the F. I have to tell people that there are two spaces there, but for the most part it is not an issue.

[+Sue Gremlin]

Wanna hear something funny? When I joined this site, I started to register, and picked a username (Mermaid, my other persona), & new password, and it told me I had already registered for an account and was active.

I scratched my head, but thought maybe my husband had signed me up? He knows my usual password. Or maybe I registered and then forgot in a blonde moment?

I filled out my profile, and THEN realized that it was someone else's!

I wrote to the forum admin and apologized for accidentally hacking into someone's account. Fortunately, the person was no longer active, and never returned my apologetic email. What are the odds of two people picking the same username AND the same password?

[+TotemLake]

I think a minor adjustment to the name you want to use will help do two things; get what you want and maintain the integrity of the history of the caches s/he found.

[+planetrobert]

What are the odds of two people picking the same username AND the same password?

You could have had the account you wanted

[+geognerd]

I think that perhaps if a user doesn't log any finds for six months, or some decided period, then there should be an option on that username. I also think that the person should be sent a couple notices to their email to ask if they still are interested in caching. If they don't respond, then that username would become available.

Have you noticed that when you look at a user's profile, it shows when they last logged in? It may be possible that a user may log into geocaching.com, but not log any finds. Why they'd go onto the site without logging anything, I don't know. Just to be a little fairer, maybe close a user's account if they haven't logged into geocaching.com in 3 years, instead of going on when they made their last find. And of course send the contact e-mails prior to the closure.

[+hiker49]

I am partly in favor of accounts being archived, but really I am more in favor of leaving up accounts. I think the decision should be the owner of that account. I do not think it is a good idea to automatically archive after six months of no logging, or any other period, but possibly if a different user wanted that user name, such as yourself, and that person had not visited the site (you can track that in the profile) in six months there should be a way to get TWO or more administrators to consent.

[+sbell111]

Didn't we just have a guy post a thread that basically said, 'Hey! I've been gone and now I'm back and ready to play.'? Shouldn't somebody be able to take a break and then start playing again without fear of losing their name?

 

Wouldn't it be strange if majicman, rubbertoe, or brokenwing started posting in the forums and it was a completely different person?

[+JoesBar]

Didn't we just have a guy post a thread that basically said, 'Hey! I've been gone and now I'm back and ready to play.'? Shouldn't somebody be able to take a break and then start playing again without fear of losing their name?

 

That is the reason I feel that before an account is closed, there should be attempts to contact the user.

 

I see all the points that have been made. I am considering a modification to the username I wish. I just thought this topic should be brought up. I wanted to know what other cachers thought.

 

Please contiune to add to this thead if you have input.

[+Markwell]

I started to register, and picked a username (Mermaid, my other persona), & new password, and it told me I had already registered for an account and was active.

(snip)

What are the odds of two people picking the same username AND the same password?

Was the password aerial? Then the chances might be pretty good.

 

First come, first served on the names. That's why my e-mail addy starts with Marklent60544@ - lots of people had many variations on my name.

 

So, what to do? Add extra space, leave out a vowel, add a hyphen? "Markwell" could easily become "Mark-Well" or ".Markwell"

 

I have seen it in VERY rare occassions when there is no history of the person (no finds, hides, or anything) that TPTB change the history-challenged login to *-OLD (like markwell-old) and make the new one available.

 

...again, VERY rare occassions.

 

Surely there's another name to choose?

[+sbell111]

Interestingly (or not), that is why I am sbell111. Long ago, I was signing up for an email account and sbell was taken. So was sbell1 and sbell11. sbell111 was born.

[+vree]

as noted above, using the *same* name could cause confusion as far as the previous cacher's hides and finds. additionally, the cacher may come back. i logged my first find on 8 june 03 and my second find 25 july 04, so under your rules, i could have been booted. would i have minded? nah. but people do sign up, disappear and then come back and become active cachers.

 

vree13 was also born of vree having been taken as a username for an email account. some variation of the name could help. i like the way webscouter. did it with the period at the end. subtle.

[+BlueDeuce]

as noted above, using the *same* name could cause confusion as far as the previous cacher's hides and finds. additionally, the cacher may come back. i logged my first find on 8 june 03 and my second find 25 july 04, so under your rules, i could have been booted. would i have minded? nah. but people do sign up, disappear and then come back and become active cachers.

 

vree13 was also born of vree having been taken as a username for an email account. some variation of the name could help. i like the way webscouter. did it with the period at the end. subtle.

Well, there are 'dibs'.

 

But 'you snooze, you lose' overrides it.

 

Believe or not, the 'Move your feet, lose your seat' article just passed the commitee.

[+JoesBar]

I know there's "dibs" and "snooze loose" thing. But, when a cacher places a cache, it blocks others from a certain area. If that cache is abandon, then it is archived so others can place hides there. Sometimes, other cachers pick up the archived container to eliminate geo trash. So, why can a person claim a username and then abandon it? In fact, a single person can have several accounts including team names. But as it stands, there is no way of archiving any unused name. All that needs to be done is a request to see if the person is still interested in caching. They can reply with a simple "yes" and that's it, they have the username. The person could be given a reasonable amout of time, even months, and several contact attempts to respond. In the case I am whining about, I have contacted this user three times over two months and have received no reply. Even if they swear at me, at least I know they are still interested in caching. I don't even know if the emails have gotten throught because I attempt to contact throught the GC site. (And I don't need to know the persons email address) So I think there should be some method of archiving usernames.

[+sbell111]

I don't get your angst.

 

As far as the non-returned emails go, there is no law that states that every email must be answered.

 

I answer my emails in a sort of priority. Urgent communication from family and friends get immediate attention.Business contacts get answered right away. Requests from family and friends are quickly answered. Sadly, responding to an email from someone I don't know about a hobby that I am not fired up about is way down on the list next to online viagra sales and news from chipper soccermoms about my next highschool reunion.

Edited July 29, 2005 by sbell111

[+Maingray]

I started to cache in June 2002, and joined the site then. I got about 3-5 finds and then had a kid. No caches for over 2 years, I had more on my mind. I restarted in 2005, now have 200+.

 

I'd find it cheeky if someone emailed me asking for my nick. If I even replied, it would be with a "no..I might get back it into one day". I'd be even madder if gc.com just yanked it out from under me, even with just 3 finds. Gc.com has a policy..if you have finds on your account, you can't lose your username.

 

Therefore...he / she might come back to caching one day. Why do they even need to reply to your emails? Why do you have more right over that username than them? Sorry, find a new username, someone else got it.

Edited July 30, 2005 by maingray

[+sbell111]

Have you considered another name. How about 'Joesbar'? Its kinda catchy.

[+JoesBar]

Sadly, responding to an email from someone I don't know about a hobby that I am not fired up about is way down on the list next to online viagra sales and news from chipper soccermoms about my next highschool reunion.

There's my point, if someone isn't fired up about caching, why should they care about a username? The next writer stated she was away for a long period. How hard is to simply respond to an inquiry about your interest in caching? A simple "I still want to cache," would suffice. I never suggested GC just cancel an account. I suggested that several attempts over several months be made to contact the indivual.

 

Obivously, there is no interest in "archiving usernames." While my intent was self-serving, even the idea of canceling unused accounts seems to be unacceptable.

 

More and more people are finding caching to be a fun hobby. I would guess that many also try it, then move on to something else. But their account remains forever. Eventually, usernames will become just a random combination of numbers and letters.

[+JoesBar]

 

  Why do they even need to reply to your emails?

Because it is the polite thing to do. Since the email comes throught the GC website you know it isn't some random ad. The sender also doesn't know your email address and you still have privacy. I think the real question is, "Why doesn't someone reply to a GC email?"

 

It appears that the overall consensus is some right to "dibs." Following that logic, why is GC allowed to archive caches? "Hey, I placed this box, I expect it last forever. So what if I don't bother to maintain it. I don't need to respond to that inquiry from GC. It's none of their business what I do. I have rights to "dibs." Isn't that the same idea I'm reading here?

 

You can sign up for email address at many sites. But most have a policy that if the email is not used for a specified period of time, it gets canceled. That is much harsher that what I have suggested.

 

There may be folks that sign up to GC just read the web pages. Perhaps they just like to read the cache descriptions or read the logs. Maybe they just want to participate in the forums. That's OK with me. I don't care if a person has no finds. But is it really such an chore to respond to an inquiry from GC?

[+fog]

I've read this thread, and the suggestion to use a period or spaces is a good one. My question is, once I create a new user and profile, is there an easy way to "migrate" my finds, stats, and caches to the new account?

[+the hermit crabs]

My question is, once I create a new user and profile, is there an easy way to "migrate" my finds, stats, and caches to the new account?

If you create a totally new account, then I think you'd have to do all that by hand. The easier way to do it would be to just change your username on your existing account. Then all of your previous finds & stuff would be automatically listed under your new name. (There used to be a little delay; old cache finds wouldn't be updated to your new name until someone added a new log to the cache page. But now I think it's all pretty instantaneous.)

 

Unless you really want two separate active accounts -- then I think you do have to do it all by hand for the second account.

Edited August 1, 2005 by the hermit crabs

[+fog]

Didn't notice the option to change username on the edit profile page - Thanks Hermit crabs! and thanks for the neat penlight - came in handy while in the woods this weekend!

[+the hermit crabs]

Didn't notice the option to change username on the edit profile page - Thanks Hermit crabs! and thanks for the neat penlight - came in handy while in the woods this weekend!

You're welcome :-)

 

But if you're changing your username, does that mean that we won't get the "Don't follow fog!" warning any more?

[+fog]

:-) - I wanted to change it to be closer to "fog" which is a stale account...

[+the hermit crabs]

I forgot about one thing that's not automatic -- the name that your caches are hidden under. Since you can put any text you want as the hider's name when you're creating a cache, it doesn't automatically change when you change your username. You'll have to edit your cache listings and change the "Who placed the cache?" box if you want it to show your new name.

[+fog]

Once again, thanks. The forum still doesn't recognize the change after an hour, but that's nothing to cry about.

 

Peace - Love - Fog.

[+the hermit crabs]

Once again, thanks. The forum still doesn't recognize the change after an hour, but that's nothing to cry about.

 

Peace - Love - Fog.

Oh, right -- the forums are another exception

 

If you've been getting to the forums with a bookmark or shortcut, your change won't show up here. After you make any change to your profile, you have to go this page and click the "Enter the Groundspeak forums" link to make sure all the changes are updated here too. (You only have to do this once, then you can go back to using your shortcut.)

[+fog]

Ah - that worked like a charm TB.

[+TeamZebra]

 

  Why do they even need to reply to your emails?

Because it is the polite thing to do. Since the email comes throught the GC website you know it isn't some random ad. The sender also doesn't know your email address and you still have privacy. I think the real question is, "Why doesn't someone reply to a GC email?"

 

It appears that the overall consensus is some right to "dibs." Following that logic, why is GC allowed to archive caches? "Hey, I placed this box, I expect it last forever. So what if I don't bother to maintain it. I don't need to respond to that inquiry from GC. It's none of their business what I do. I have rights to "dibs." Isn't that the same idea I'm reading here?

 

You can sign up for email address at many sites. But most have a policy that if the email is not used for a specified period of time, it gets canceled. That is much harsher that what I have suggested.

 

There may be folks that sign up to GC just read the web pages. Perhaps they just like to read the cache descriptions or read the logs. Maybe they just want to participate in the forums. That's OK with me. I don't care if a person has no finds. But is it really such an chore to respond to an inquiry from GC?

Archiving caches and yanking a user name out from under someone are two different things. When you place a cache you agree to be responsible for it and maintain it. You agree that if your cache is not properly maintained GC.com can and WILL archive it to open up the area. (HAve you read the user agreement lately??)

 

When you sign up for a username there is no such agreement saying if you don't log a find within 6 months we'll yank your account. I can tell you right now if there was such a thing, I'd have left right away. Some people don't have that luxury. I know a local who only gets to cache on his vacations... ONCE a year. He logs a few finds then the account is dormant for 12 or more months.

 

Heck... When the hubby started hunting with me I wanted to change my username to reflect our newfound Team Status. My plan was to go from ZebraSE to Team Zebra. Guess what.... Team Zebra was already taken. Did I whine and cry and demand the account be shut down because they only had 1 find and never logged in after they logged that 1 find? No.. I simply dropped the space and became TeamZebra. It has worked fine. Small changes make a big difference. If you like the MJD but don't want to use a . try emphasizing your name... _MJD_

 

Think of it this way... as a cache owner what would you do if suddenly someone logs a find on your cache and that user name has ALREADY logged a find there? 99.9% would probably delete the log since multiple finds on the same cache aren't allowed in most cases. And what if the reason the other person left was because nobody liked them or they destroyed caches. .. would you want to share the same name? Caching is a sport where original thinkers rule... keep placing the same cache over and over and people will get bored. But if you use your imagination and make each hide new and exciting... they will come. Use a little imagination and create your own user name instead of stealing it from someone else.

 

*Hopping down off my soapbox and collecting my 98 cents*

 

EDIT: BTW, the original MJD logged on August 1 2005.. not exactly dead.

Edited August 26, 2005 by TeamZebra

[+Bill D (wwh)]

I have the (wwh) in my user name because there was another Bill D registered. It used to annoy me that he only ever found three caches over Christmas 2002 and then seemed to have gone for good. I've just looked at his profile and to my surprise he last logged in two weeks ago! Perhaps that's a strong argument for not removing accounts that haven't been active for some time.

 

On the other hand, I notice that there are a lot of user names which were taken years ago and have never been validated, and lots more old ones where the date of joining and the last visit are the same. Perhaps there is a case to be made for weeding out some of those, at least the non-validated ones.

[+dogbreathcanada]

What are the odds of two people picking the same username AND the same password?

Probably not very high among people who choose "Mermaid" as their username.

 

Let me guess, the password was either "mermaid" or "ariel".

[+Anonymous']

I wanted Anonymous but someone had already taken it to use as a sock puppet to use for one hide. I tried emailing the guy to see if he could change his name so I could take his but he never returned my email.

[+Volvo Man]

I think 6 months is way too short a time for one thing, I dropped out of sight for nearly that long, due to work commitments.

 

Also, along with ditching a username, would have to go dropping their logs unless the name was changed to "whoever (archived)" in some cases, the reason that cacher no longer logs caches is that they have passed away, and I feel that ditching their logs would be a real shame. Even when a cache is permanently archived, it can be found on the site if you know where to look, I've even found archived caches from banned users.

 

I do agree that a no finds/hids user name should be recycled after a given time, perhaps 12 months.

 

GC is one of the few places where spaces are allowed in the username, thanks to a lack of email address (ie @GC.com) being provided in some way. I think this allows a lot more creativity in user names My own is a duplicate, a swedish volvoman signed up before me (I'm getting used to that) so I added a space and capitalised the first letters, which I prefer as a display format anyway.

[+Thrak]

My "real life" email has always been my first initial and last name. I have used that for many, many years - long before graphical Internet and web pages - back into the BBS days. When I got my DSL account I found that my user name was taken. The person who had my name didn't USE it - it wasn't an email address that got responses from anybody - it had just been taken and then abandoned. I whined, I cried, I railed, I moaned, ---- I got on with my life and made my user name my last name followed by my first initial. I'll live. If this was the worst thing to happen to me I'd be in pretty darn good shape.

 

I have over 4,000 posts on VN boards - mostly in the tech support forums - and I had to be thrak9 there. The name thrak was taken - again not USED - but taken. Sigh........

 

Think of the bazillion or so lusers - er users - who have AOL. How many names do you think have been taken and then abandoned there?

 

I'm not trying to be a butthead to the OP - just commenting on how fruitless it is to be upset or to worry about the name thing. You won't get what you desire and you will only cause yourself to feel upset.

 

I'd suggest that you go out and find a new cache. That is bound to make you feel better.

Edited August 27, 2005 by thrak

[VectorHound]

I've thought about this problem in REVERSE!!! I was thinking of adding new accounts, using several of my many e-mail addresses to validate, but remain obsure, with a slightly different purpose. I wanted to "own" every possible variation on my screen name so that no one else can get "almost" the same name. I didn't want someone else using my name, differentiated only by an extra space or punctuatiion mark. But I've never actually followed through on this. I figured that it wouldn't really bother me if they lived outside of my usual territory so that confusion would be minimal-to-non-existent (except for forums or occassional overlap during travels). If someone tred on my name within my usual territory, I assume they'd have to be some overbearing, inconsiderate egomaniac, that would never find happiness in a social environment anyway.

[+horses11]

Have you noticed that when you look at a user's profile, it shows when they last logged in? It may be possible that a user may log into geocaching.com, but not log any finds. Why they'd go onto the site without logging anything, I don't know. Just to be a little fairer, maybe close a user's account if they haven't logged into geocaching.com in 3 years, instead of going on when they made their last find. And of course send the contact e-mails prior to the closure.

I don't have a GPS yet to log in any finds,but I log in almost daily.

[+horses11]

Surely there's another name to choose?

I first tried using "horses" as my I.D. but it was in use.

So I did "horses11",with was ok with me I use this I.D. at other web sites.

[+Polar B's]

Not that I agree with geocaching nickname being "archived" but I would like to point out that email address are treated differently. In most cases, depending on the server, email addresses that are left abondoned or most likely unpaid for 3 - 6 months are released and available to use again.

[+majicman]

Didn't we just have a guy post a thread that basically said, 'Hey! I've been gone and now I'm back and ready to play.'? Shouldn't somebody be able to take a break and then start playing again without fear of losing their name?

 

Wouldn't it be strange if majicman, rubbertoe, or brokenwing started posting in the forums and it was a completely different person?

 

You never know when the MAJICMAN will pop up (in reality or in your deepest fearful dreams!)

[+Markwell]

AAAHHHHH!!!!!!

[+majicman]

I knew that would make you scream!

 

(You thought I was 'dead un buried' didn't cha?!)