+Waldlaterne Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 (edited) Hi, I'm currently on my 3rd nickname... don't ask, I get bored with them after a while ;-) I'm geocaching in Germany, my current nick translates to "forest light" or "forest lantern". Question: if I change my nickname now, and at some point later want to change it back to "Waldlaterne", will that be possible or will that nick be blocked for future use even by myself? Thanks for any input! Edited April 24, 2014 by Waldlaterne Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Hi, I'm currently on my 3rd nickname... don't ask, I get bored with them after a while ;-) I'm geocaching in Germany, my current nick translates to "forest light" or "forest lantern". Question: if I change my nickname now, and at some point later want to change it back to "Waldlaterne", will that be possible or will that nick be blocked for future use even by myself? Thanks for any input! At the moment, yes, you can change your user name. But Groundspeak have, in the past, locked/stopped users from making those changes. Nothing to say they wont lock/stop name changes in the future... Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Hi, I'm currently on my 3rd nickname... don't ask, I get bored with them after a while ;-) I'm geocaching in Germany, my current nick translates to "forest light" or "forest lantern". Question: if I change my nickname now, and at some point later want to change it back to "Waldlaterne", will that be possible or will that nick be blocked for future use even by myself? Thanks for any input! If someone else takes that username in the meantime, then you would not be able to change it back. Help Center → My Account → My Account and Profile 2.15. Username Change http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=115 B. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 You've already changed your nickname twice, so you're probably already aware of this. But you should consider the "Geocacher formerly known as Waldlaterne" issue. If others in your local geocaching community know you as Waldlaterne, then there can be confusion when they encounter your new name. Quote Link to comment
+Waldlaterne Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 Thanks for all the answers! Looks like a name change might be coming up it's something I need once in a while, like a new hair style! Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 If someone else takes that username in the meantime, then you would not be able to change it back. Can this work? 1) Create new account with name "C" 2) Rename current account "A" to "B" (grab it yourself, so that no one else can grab it) 3) Rename new account "C" to "A" some time later 4) Rename new account "A" to whatever 5) Rename current account "B" to "A" I'm not sure if it is explicitly against the TOU to create an account for this purpose though. Quote Link to comment
+Waldlaterne Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hey, I have a son who doesn't have an account yet, there's no reason why HE couldn't use (save) Waldlaterne for me! Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I've lost track of the number of times L0ne.R has changed his username. B. Quote Link to comment
+Waldlaterne Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 From the link provided by Pup Patrol: If a username already exists and has ever been validated, or the username has been used in any way, then the username is not available. Therefore the idea hinted at by Chrysalides wouldn't work; since "Waldlaterne" has been used, then it's not available. Spinning the idea further I'm worried if I go from Waldlaterne to ABC, then I won't be able to change back because, see above, Waldlaterne has been used (yes, by me, but does the Software check that??) Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 From the link provided by Pup Patrol: If a username already exists and has ever been validated, or the username has been used in any way, then the username is not available. Therefore the idea hinted at by Chrysalides wouldn't work; since "Waldlaterne" has been used, then it's not available. Spinning the idea further I'm worried if I go from Waldlaterne to ABC, then I won't be able to change back because, see above, Waldlaterne has been used (yes, by me, but does the Software check that??) If you change your username to ABC, then want to change it back to Waldlaterne, the system will tell you that username is in use. From what I've seen, once a username is created, whether it's used or not, it is no longer available. Groundspeak does not delete accounts, so usernames are not opened up for other people to use. B. Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 (edited) erp B. Edited April 25, 2014 by Pup Patrol Quote Link to comment
+Waldlaterne Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thanks, that's what I was "afraid" of. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 From the link provided by Pup Patrol: If a username already exists and has ever been validated, or the username has been used in any way, then the username is not available. Therefore the idea hinted at by Chrysalides wouldn't work; since "Waldlaterne" has been used, then it's not available. I changed the name of an account from A to B, then from B back to A. Both changes are successful. Try it - you changed your username before, rename your son's account to one of those. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 If you change your username to ABC, then want to change it back to Waldlaterne, the system will tell you that username is in use. Not true from my experiment 5 minutes ago. From what I've seen, once a username is created, whether it's used or not, it is no longer available. Groundspeak does not delete accounts, so usernames are not opened up for other people to use. If it is in use. If you rename "Pup Patrol" to "Big Dog Patrol", for example, "Pup Patrol" is no longer in use. Groundspeak does not appear to keep track of previously used names, only currently used ones. Quote Link to comment
+NanCycle Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 If you change your username to ABC, then want to change it back to Waldlaterne, the system will tell you that username is in use. Not true from my experiment 5 minutes ago. From what I've seen, once a username is created, whether it's used or not, it is no longer available. Groundspeak does not delete accounts, so usernames are not opened up for other people to use. If it is in use. If you rename "Pup Patrol" to "Big Dog Patrol", for example, "Pup Patrol" is no longer in use. Groundspeak does not appear to keep track of previously used names, only currently used ones. This agrees with what I just tried. I had changed my name a while ago, and now I put my old name into "Find a User" and it was not found. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 This agrees with what I just tried. I had changed my name a while ago, and now I put my old name into "Find a User" and it was not found. You can check to see if it is available to be changed to, by going to the change user name page. Type in the name, and it will tell you if it is available or not. You don't have to actually change it. I noticed that there are some names I couldn't change to, but they don't show up when I try to search for them. They may be accounts that are not validated. For example, I couldn't get account "pup". You can see the account by doing this. Quote Link to comment
+Waldlaterne Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 Thanks everybody for the helpful Input I just tried it with my son's account, and it seems to work, i.e. you can go back to an old name as Long as it's not in use! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.