Nicknames Getting Longer

[+Joe Smith]

As many people will notice, any website that requires a unique user name will eventually begin to use up the more desirable ones. AIM, Hotmail, and others are suffering from such use that it becomes very difficult to find a reasonable name. Is the same happening for geocaching?

 

I was lucky to get a short name, and I am beginning to see the names getting longer, containing more hyphens, and using more subtle changes to make them unique.

 

How long until we run out of good names?

 

If I would have signed up next year would my name have to be:

 

Joe_Smith_the_geocacher_from_Pittsburgh_using_a_60cs

 

Joe Smith

[+Anonymous']

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

You can have long names and be creative. Mine certainly is.

[+TAT]

Well, they couldn't get shorter!

[Shoobie & the Sand Crabs]

Mine is pretty long but we wanted it that way also Geocaching is not used like AIM so I don't think we will have to worry about that.

[+Mr. Snazz]

My original handle was Mr. Snazz He's The Guy Who Likes To Boogie For Boogers, but it was a real drag to type it out, espescially when I'd make a mistake and the error would scroll back to me at 300 baud.

 

 

I also have knowledge of transitional materials as they relate to quantum quartz.

[dampeoples]

It'll be ok. Perhaps, if it becomes a problem, there can be a cleansing of accounts. That might be hard though, do you need to log in to search for caches?

[Stony2008]

I just toook my nick name plus the year i graduate and volia a username. I do understand your conserns but I have no idea what will happen.

 

Is the end near.

[+Sputnik 57]

If nicknames were limited to 6 characters, and only letters and numbers were allowed, there would "only" be 36 to the 6th, or 1,838,265,625 possible combinations. They wouldn't all be as snazzy as mount10bike or cache test dummies, but we would get by.

 

More of a concern is running out of GC numbers under the current regime. Maybe FizzyMagic will stop in and give us an update on the zero hour for that.

 

Edit: GC uses base 31 (presumably, the letters I, L, O, S and U are omitted as looking too much like 1, 5 and zero--U too easily confused with V). There are other threads, but the demise of the system is discussed briefly here.

Edited March 8, 2005 by Sputnik 57

[+Mr. Snazz]

Edit: GC uses base 31 (presumably, the letters I, L, O, S and U are omitted as looking too much like 1, 5 and zero--U too easily confused with V). There are other threads, but the demise of the system is discussed briefly

The newest garmin is supposed to support GUID waypoint names. I'm guessing thats what they are going to switch over. Espescially since every cache already has a GUID.

 

43a7dfb4-0bcb-441a-a2c7-33d023182aea is pretty easy to remember, too.

[+PandyBat]

Every once in a while I do searches on my name to see if there's anyone else out there using the same name. So far, there's only been one person that I've ever seen using the same name and I'm not even sure they use it anymore. I try to use the same name for everything. I guess people could always start using pandybat1, pandybat2, etc. No possibility of running out of names in the near future using that configuration.

[+Enspyer]

There probably isn't the same use as AIM. There aren't people here at geocaching who have 20 screen names, like many people I do have on AIM. Even I have probably 5 or 6 sns, while here each of us has one. Plus, here, they could probably delete long-unused profiles while they don't seem to delete old screen names.

[+briansnat]

I've yet to see my user name taken on any site that I've used it to register on. I'm pretty amazed though at the names that are taken. My dad (a retired police capt. who lives in Duck, N.C.) tried to use CaptDuck on AOL and wound up with CaptDuck51. Fifty other people beat him to that name! Who would have thought?

Edited March 8, 2005 by briansnat

[+AuntieWeasel]

I was astonished to stumble over an AuntyWeasel my first week on Groundspeak. Fortunately, she was gracious about it. And I really didn't have to poke her with a stick all that hard.

 

I've used many, many different names on different fora, and so far never had to resort to numbers. I hate numbers in usernames.

 

It's amazing how many two-word combinations are left in URL registrations, too.

[WH]

Well, they couldn't get shorter!

I beg to differ .

[+Team Perks]

I was astonished to stumble over an AuntyWeasel my first week on Groundspeak. Fortunately, she was gracious about it. And I really didn't have to poke her with a stick all that hard.

Heh...I actually thought you WERE the other AuntyWeasel at first. I've found a few of her caches.

[uber_bike_geek]

OK, my username is probably a bit longer than the average, but I've got no problem with it - I've never seen it used anywhere else (except by me, and even then it's slightly different - uber-bike-geek, uberbikegeek etc) and it describes me well... a bike geek (to the extreme)!

 

There are plenty of available names left... don't worry!

 

Happy Caching

Jeff

[+Tonsil]

When you start seeing user names being auctioned off on eBay, then it's time to worry.

[+NotThePainter]

Given my legal name, the Geo name was obvious!

 

Paul Cezanne

[+Markwell]

More of a concern is running out of GC numbers under the current regime.  Maybe FizzyMagic will stop in and give us an update on the zero hour for that.

 

Edit: GC uses base 31 (presumably, the letters I, L, O, S and U are omitted as looking too much like 1, 5 and zero--U too easily confused with V).  There are other threads, but the demise of the system is discussed briefly here.

Given that around 3/31/2004, the caches were sequentially at around 127K, and that we're currently around 215,600, over the last year, cachers have added about 242 caches per day to the system. With Jeremy stating that GCZZZZ would be cache #512400, that would put us running out of letters in April of 2008, roughly 3 years.

 

However...

 

...growth in Geocaching has not been linear by any means.

A very rough guess is that we'll probably run out in about half that time, or October of 2007.

 

What Comes After Gczzzz?

The end of the world.

 

512400 caches will exist at that point. Unless we change the way we generate them, it will just add another digit to the end to make 7 digits total.

[+the hermit crabs]

When we were picking this name, we saw that there was already someone called HermitCrabs, so we were a little hesitant at first. But they haven't logged a cache since June of 2003, and they live more than 2000 miles away from us, so it's probably not going to cause any confusion.

 

We'll just avoid caching in Utah.

[+sept1c_tank]

Nicknames Getting Longer?

 

I haven't noticed mine getting any longer.

[+MrCOgeo]

If nicknames were limited to 6 characters, and only letters and numbers were allowed, there would "only" be 36 to the 6th, or 1,838,265,625 possible combinations.

***WARNING MATH PERSON WITH TO MUCH TIME ON HANDS RIGHT NOW***

 

Actually what you have there is 35 to the 6

 

You're discounting that not all names would have to be exactly 6 chars in length.

Some would be 5, 4, 3, 2 even 1.

 

So it's more like (36^6)+(36^5)+(36^4)+(36^3)+(36^2)+36

or 2,238,976,116 combinations.

 

But if letter o and number 0 look to much the same you could substitute 35 in above equation.

Edited March 9, 2005 by MRCOGEO

[+ibycus]

I've always been pretty lucky with my handle (which also happens to be my domain name), as there are actually a number of other people/companies that use the name Ibycus.

My main problem I've had is running in to myself on something I've signed up for eons ago, and not remembering my password for it. That's when I have to start getting creative and either feed in all of my likely passwords (really don't like doing that for some reason though), or just create yet another new account.

[+Team Sand Dollar]

Well, they couldn't get shorter!

I beg to differ .

My original account name was L .

 

Team Sand Dollar

[adampierson]

If names do get to be a problem.

 

1) Purge inactive users who haven't posted finds

2) Purge inactive users who no longer geocache

 

The only problem I can see in #2 is if they have active caches that are still available.

[+OienLabs]

Try one or two of the Scandinavian characters. That can shorten the nick.

[+TAT]

L joined before TAT, so that is an example of the lenghening trend. Wh either would have been taken by 2003 or probably wouldn't have joined such a small obscure site.

 

Wow, long names are great!

 

For those that are thinking of downsizing, B is still available!

Edited March 8, 2005 by TAT

[+Two Geeks and a GPS]

Most refer to us as "Two Geeks" instead of the longer version!

[+Markwell]

If names do get to be a problem.

 

1) Purge inactive users who haven't posted finds

2) Purge inactive users who no longer geocache

 

The only problem I can see in #2 is if they have active caches that are still available.

Another problem with #2 - if the cacher found any caches...

 

Don't purge unless it's a completely defunct account. And even then - why? There's no limit on the number of characters in a user name.

[adampierson]

If names do get to be a problem.

 

1) Purge inactive users who haven't posted finds

2) Purge inactive users who no longer geocache

 

The only problem I can see in #2 is if they have active caches that are still available.

Another problem with #2 - if the cacher found any caches...

 

Don't purge unless it's a completely defunct account. And even then - why? There's no limit on the number of characters in a user name.

Yes I did think of that, however I figured that if the account is inactive it shouldn't be too big of a deal to purge the finds of an unused account. I figured most cache owners probably won't mind too much if they noticed a finder of one of their caches has evaporated.

 

Keep in mind I have no idea on how difficult of a task that could be on GC.COM's database.

 

Just offering suggestions.

[+Mr. Snazz]

This is the most amazingly pointless thread I have ever seen. I'm amazed that the triggerhappy forum nannies havn't locked it yet.

[+W7WT]

Sure is nice having a short name when you are trying to find room on the little

rolled up paper in some of the micros. Dick, W7WT

[+Team Perks]

Sure is nice having a short name when you are trying to find room on the little

rolled up paper in some of the micros. Dick, W7WT

Wonder if these guys have any trouble with those nano-cache log sheets?

[+Joe Smith]

This is the most amazingly pointless thread I have ever seen. I'm amazed that the triggerhappy forum nannies havn't locked it yet.

I didn't think it was THAT pointless,

 

and if it is, then 30 people have an opinion about a pointless subject.

 

 

 

It is still open for two reasons,

 

1. It does slightly pertain to geocaching

 

2. I have yet to check the "lock this thread" button

 

I have seen worse things to talk about

[+Renegade Knight]

You can archive names and put an archive character on them. It preserves the log history but opens it up for geoachers to use again down the road.

 

Or you can go the ICQ route. Everyone can use any name they want it's your number that's unique. That has advantages and problems.

 

Is John Jakob Jingleheimer Schmidt taken yet?

[+Mr. Snazz]

and if it is, then 30 people have an opinion about a pointless subject.

I think most of the threads posted in the General forum prove this point.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

There are ways to get what you want...you just have to be creative....

 

Corps of Discovery

 

Corp of Discovery

 

Corp Of Discovery

 

Note: it's NOT the capitalization of 'Of' that makes the 2nd & 3rd ones different....

[+Chalky723]

I just use my nickname from the army & the last 3 figs of my army number, if I ever can't use Chalky723 (aint happened yet) I'll just use more digits of the number - I've got another 5 to tag on & I'm pretty sure its unique.

 

Chalky24795723.......

[+Team Perks]

I guess I could always rever to using my area code, zip code, month/day of my birth, and year my car was manufactured.

 

"Team Perks3239001907062003" has a good ring to it, no?

 

Wait...now what was the point of this discussion again?

[trekbabe]

Well I signed up in Aug and got a pretty short username. So it can't be getting too bad yet. And like someone said this isn't like AOL or other systems. Geocaching is a sport and not really known about by the general public (I didn't know about until I was introduced to it by a friend) the amount of users is limited by this. I doubt it will get too bad

[+Chalky723]

At the end of the day its the same as anything on the web that needs a username - use your imagination! If your name's already gone then invent another one - you can't do anything about it - unless you're microsoft!!

 

If someone mailed me & asked me to stop using my name I'm afraid they'd get short shrift!!

 

Chalky

[cacheaholik]

umm there are lots of ways to spell a name or change a word without adding numbers. I doubt that user names on gc.com would have to ever be really long and even if they ever do, WHO cares???

[djhobby]

On a related topic. What is everybodies thought on using your real name as opposed to your sisters dogs favorite tv characters catch phrase? I always use the same name when ever I can and usually don't have much problem. I wonder if some people have a preconceived notion that their name is already taken so came up with some odd name. I can see a future where we start naming our kids Sassy_Butterfly_487 or something similar.

[Kybra]

On a related topic. What is everybodies thought on using your real name as opposed to your sisters dogs favorite tv characters catch phrase? I always use the same name when ever I can and usually don't have much problem. I wonder if some people have a preconceived notion that their name is already taken so came up with some odd name. I can see a future where we start naming our kids Sassy_Butterfly_487 or something similar.

the problem I can see with this is I know that there is 9 other people that bank with the same bank I do that have the exact same name as me, 2 of which share the same birth date and one was born on the same day I was. If this can happen in a relatively small bank company, there is a strong possibility of it happening in a global interest group.

[+Mr. Snazz]

On a related topic. What is everybodies thought on using your real name as opposed to your sisters dogs favorite tv characters catch phrase? I always use the same name when ever I can and usually don't have much problem. I wonder if some people have a preconceived notion that their name is already taken so came up with some odd name. I can see a future where we start naming our kids Sassy_Butterfly_487 or something similar.

You mean DJing isn't your hobby?

 

But seriously, when I first went in to get my driver's license, they weren't going to give it to me because the computer said I had a suspended license. They were searching by my first name and last name rather than my SSN, and some other jerk with the same first and last as myself had gotten his suspended. The lady was all "Computers don't lie", until I leaned over the counter and saw the middle initial "T" (mine is "M").

 

So maybe we should use our SSN as our caching name? Everybody already has access to it anyway.

[+Joe Smith]

 

So maybe we should use our SSN as our caching name? Everybody already has access to it anyway.

my university issued emails with your initials, and the last four of your social. Being many places use only the last four for identification issues I was not too happy about that. Eventually they switched to a random number.