Changing caching name?

[+MMH&M]

When we first started caching we weren't sure if we would like it so didn't put much thought into our user name. Now we're completely hooked, we've come up with something more inventive, but are not sure if changing names after 300 odd finds is the done thing or not. Opinions?

[+cerberus1]

Username Change from the Help Center.

[+cerberus1]

We know folks who parted ways, kid on their own, etc; who changed their name after hundreds, and one even thousands.

Why not?

 

Only tough part may be folks you've met on the trail/events greeting you by the original.

[+narcissa]

It's actually pretty common.

[+HCompleto]

Hi,

 

Before, you used to have to request the name change to a moderator, but know you can simply do it on your profile. Follow the link provided by cerberus1, it should help you!

[+Path Pacer]

I changed mine after about 100 or so finds. Oddly enough, it changed all my logs to the new name, but not the caches I'd hidden under the old name. Weird.

[+Traditional Bill]

Hi,

 

Before, you used to have to request the name change to a moderator, but know you can simply do it on your profile. Follow the link provided by cerberus1, it should help you!

 

As far as I know (at least since 2012), you've had the option to change your username yourself. I remember fiddling with different names when I first started geocaching. I finally changed it permanently about a year and a half ago. But yeah, if that's not always been a thing then I'm glad that was before my time, heh.

[+niraD]

I changed mine after about 100 or so finds. Oddly enough, it changed all my logs to the new name, but not the caches I'd hidden under the old name. Weird.

FWIW, there's a reason for that. The logs are associated with your account directly, and display whatever your account name is. When you change your account name, that changes the name displayed for your log.

 

But the "hidden by" name in a geocache is just a text field in the geocache description. The link will always go to your account profile, but the text can be anything you want. It defaults to whatever your account name is at the time, but you can change it to whatever you want. Sometimes, people add the names of other "co-owners" who helped them hide the cache. Sometimes, people use names that fit the theme of the cache (e.g., "SkyNet" for a Terminator-themed cache). Sometimes, people use names that offer a hint to finding the cache or to solving the puzzle. And so on.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

I changed my username from Bassanio to Crow-T-Robot. When I first started going online, I was kind of heavy into Shakespeare, so Bassanio was my username for many sites. But, by the time I got into geocaching, I had pretty much outgrown that phase of my life but I still used that name because it was the name I'd always used. After meeting up with another cacher on the trail and fumbling with telling them my username (Bassanio is kind of an awkward name to pronounce out loud), I decided I needed something new, something more "me" and I've been a MST3K fan far longer than Shakespeare. So, Crow-T-Robot was it.

 

Now, had I known Crow T Robot (no hyphens) was already taken by a reviewer, I would've went with another MST3K nickname. But, I found that out quite a bit after changing my name and for better or worse, this is what I'm sticking with. Unless I ever get the urge to change it again

[+Path Pacer]

I changed mine after about 100 or so finds. Oddly enough, it changed all my logs to the new name, but not the caches I'd hidden under the old name. Weird.

FWIW, there's a reason for that. The logs are associated with your account directly, and display whatever your account name is. When you change your account name, that changes the name displayed for your log.

 

But the "hidden by" name in a geocache is just a text field in the geocache description. The link will always go to your account profile, but the text can be anything you want. It defaults to whatever your account name is at the time, but you can change it to whatever you want. Sometimes, people add the names of other "co-owners" who helped them hide the cache. Sometimes, people use names that fit the theme of the cache (e.g., "SkyNet" for a Terminator-themed cache). Sometimes, people use names that offer a hint to finding the cache or to solving the puzzle. And so on.

Interesting. It never occurred to me to change my listing name or that you even could. Thanks for the info.

[+The A-Team]

As far as I know (at least since 2012), you've had the option to change your username yourself.

When I wanted to change my name in March 2010, you had to contact Groundspeak HQ to get them to make the change. I'm not sure exactly when the self-serve tool was put in place, but I believe it was either later in 2010 or in 2011.