Custom last names

[chibiusa Ling]

Two questions....random discussion of the day...

1. How many people do you think actually use the custom last name program. I know the Chungs do but I honestly can't think of anyone else who uses it. 

2. Do you think that the custom last name program should be included into the coming back of last names. So either allowing people to pay for a name change as is planned or pay more than the upcoming charge for a custom last name?. LL are wanting revenue, that "could" be another way to generate it maybe. Especially if they charged people like.....50USD a year to retain the custom name instead of 500USD as it currently is.

Sub note to the angry forum ragers : No I am not demanding SL to be the way I personally want it to be. This is just for random discussion.

Edited February 4, 2019 by chibiusa Ling

[Fionalein]

6 minutes ago, chibiusa Ling said:

How many people do you think actually use the custom last name program. I know the Chungs do but I honestly can't think of anyone else who uses it.

the durandurans do...

I honestly think the program is a remnant from the gold rush times when Reuters, Disney and other RL enterprises had inworld places and custom last names for their inworld workers. This dream of "future of the internet" has long ago faded, but the Lab never updated their program...

As last names are integers in a database they are not available in unlimited quantities so 50$US might not be enough to compensate for the effort needed. Then again the upcoming return of lastnames might include the neccessity to rework the database which could bring down the price of custom lastnames as well. (Has no one ever speculated the original loss of lastnames could actually just have been due to "running out of available integers"? That would surely explain why the new ones will cost now)

[BilliJo Aldrin]

Its 500 per year now, here is the official SL Wiki.

In fact its 1000 for the first year and 500 each year after.

 

Upon creation of a custom surname, the account designated as owner will be billed a US$500 setup fee plus the first annual US$500 fee. On each anniversary date, the owner will be billed US$500 to retain custom surname ownership. Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names (surnames). For example, "Smith" is not acceptable, but "SmithCorp," "SmithInc," "SmithProducts" or "SmithConstruction" are. Linden Lab will consider names that are clearly made up or composite (for example, "SecondLife" or "Agilent").

 

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Custom_Name_Program 

[BilliJo Aldrin]

3 minutes ago, Fionalein said:

the durandurans do...

I honestly think the program is a remnant from the gold rush times when Reuters, Disney and other RL enterprises had inworld places and custom last names for their inworld workers. This dream of "future of the internet" has long ago faded, but the Lab never updated their program...

As last names are integers in a database they are not available in unlimited quantities so 50$US might not be enough to compensate for the effort needed. Then again the upcoming return of lastnames might include the neccessity to rework the database which could bring down the price of custom lastnames as well. (Has no one ever speculated the original loss of lastnames could actually just have been due to "running out of available integers"? That would surely explain why the new ones will cost now)

Your name code is not based on the number of letters in your name, i'm not sure how long the code is, but everyone on the planet could sign up for multiple accounts and they still wouldn't run out.

here is mine, please explain where that has any relationship to my last name

d6c219af-20a8-413f-8077-11284b3b318b

Not having last names any more has nothing to do with "running out" of numbers

Edited February 4, 2019 by BilliJo Aldrin
added stuff

[Christhiana]

3 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

Its 500 per year now, here is the official SL Wiki.

In fact its 1000 for the first year and 500 each year after.

 

Upon creation of a custom surname, the account designated as owner will be billed a US$500 setup fee plus the first annual US$500 fee. On each anniversary date, the owner will be billed US$500 to retain custom surname ownership. Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names (surnames). For example, "Smith" is not acceptable, but "SmithCorp," "SmithInc," "SmithProducts" or "SmithConstruction" are. Linden Lab will consider names that are clearly made up or composite (for example, "SecondLife" or "Agilent").

 

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Custom_Name_Program 

If you can find other residents who want to share that last name you can split the costs…

For example: Share a custom last name name with 50 other residents and everyone pays $20 for the first year and $10 for every next year.

[chibiusa Ling]

11 minutes ago, Fionalein said:

the durandurans do...

I honestly think the program is a remnant from the gold rush times when Reuters, Disney and other RL enterprises had inworld places and custom last names for their inworld workers. This dream of "future of the internet" has long ago faded, but the Lab never updated their program...

As last names are integers in a database they are not available in unlimited quantities so 50$US might not be enough to compensate for the effort needed. Then again the upcoming return of lastnames might include the neccessity to rework the database which could bring down the price of custom lastnames as well. (Has no one ever speculated the original loss of lastnames could actually just have been due to "running out of available integers"? That would surely explain why the new ones will cost now)

I figured as much. The chungs though were the only ones I ever knew of that used it. Tho I do wonder about running out of integers. In an SQL database for example INT is defined as a max of 255 which is something like -2billion to +2 billion same as the channel range in SL. I think in all honesty the cost is to generate extra revenue and compensate for the time required to update everything to the new name. I remember in one of the town hall meetings it being explained that the username is tied into all kinds of systems that are separate from one another and whats taking so long is the updating of all these systems to accept name changes. So perhaps the charge is also to compensate for having to update all of those areas when someone requests a new name. Maybe..

If they did update the custom name program for current times though it would be a pretty neat thing and I think would definitely generate some extra income. Especially if you say....have couples who want to share their own preferred last name or those hardcore SL families who want their whole family to have a single unique surname.

 

10 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

Its 500 per year now, here is the official SL Wiki.

In fact its 1000 for the first year and 500 each year after.

 

Upon creation of a custom surname, the account designated as owner will be billed a US$500 setup fee plus the first annual US$500 fee. On each anniversary date, the owner will be billed US$500 to retain custom surname ownership. Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names (surnames). For example, "Smith" is not acceptable, but "SmithCorp," "SmithInc," "SmithProducts" or "SmithConstruction" are. Linden Lab will consider names that are clearly made up or composite (for example, "SecondLife" or "Agilent").

 

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Custom_Name_Program 

Yeah 1000USD to start is insane. Not for a corporation maybe but for the average user

Edited February 4, 2019 by chibiusa Ling

[BilliJo Aldrin]

4 minutes ago, Christhiana said:

If you can find other residents who want to share that last name you can split the costs…

For example: Share a custom last name name with 50 other residents and everyone pays $20 for the first year and $10 for every next year.

That sounds like as big a potential disaster as sharing the cost of a full sim.

Also "regular" last names are not allowed. They need to sound like a commercial/company name.

[Christhiana]

Does anyone know what happens to the custom last names when you cancel the subscription? Do they revert to 'resident'? Or are the accounts made under the custom last name simply deleted?

[BilliJo Aldrin]

8 minutes ago, chibiusa Ling said:

I figured as much. The chungs though were the only ones I ever knew of that used it. Tho I do wonder about running out of integers. In an SQL database for example INT is defined as a max of 255 which is something like -2billion to +2 billion same as the channel range in SL. I think in all honesty the cost is to generate extra revenue and compensate for the time required to update everything to the new name. I remember in one of the town hall meetings it being explained that the username is tied into all kinds of systems that are separate from one another and whats taking so long is the updating of all these systems to accept name changes. So perhaps the charge is also to compensate for having to update all of those areas when someone requests a new name. Maybe..

If they did update the custom name program for current times though it would be a pretty neat thing and I think would definitely generate some extra income. Especially if you say....have couples who want to share their own preferred last name or those hardcore SL families who want their whole family to have a single unique surname.

 

Yeah 1000USD to start is insane. Not for a corporation maybe but for the average user

Maybe they should just hide account names and have everyone use a display name, then everyone is on a level playing field. The URI will still be visible to see what a persons account name is, but day to day, you'd just see the display name.

Besides my "real" name as stored on their database  is billijo.aldrin

I doubt that would change even if I paid for a new real name. The name you paid for would still be linked to your original account name and all your assets would still be stored under that original sign up name.

I think people make too big a deal about all this to be honest.

Edited February 4, 2019 by BilliJo Aldrin
added stuff

[Christhiana]

2 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

That sounds like as big a potential disaster as sharing the cost of a full sim.

Also "regular" last names are not allowed. They need to sound like a commercial/company name.

I think your right about the possible disaster, collecting fees would be a hassle. But it could be a nice solution for (family) roleplaying purposes.

 

[Fionalein]

11 minutes ago, chibiusa Ling said:

In an SQL database for example INT is defined as a max of 255 which is something like -2billion to +2 billion same as the channel range in SL.

Max, but what if they just used a lower bit count? slnamewatch.com lists 10889 unique last names which would require a 14bit integer (or a 15 bit if unsigned)... if that really is the limit they would have used up about 2/3rds of 16384 available last names by now. 

Edited February 4, 2019 by Fionalein

[BilliJo Aldrin]

Just now, Fionalein said:

max, but what if they just used a lower bit count, slnamewatch.com lists 10889 unique last names which would require a 14bit integer (or a 15 bit if unsigned)... if that really is the limit they would have used up 2/3rds of 16384 avaialble last names by now. 

Then how come we can have an unlimited amount of accounts of the last name "resident"? In fact there is no reason why names couldn't be used over and over, since every instance of a repeated name would still generate a new URI.

It's the URI that matters, not the  log in name.

[Fionalein]

11 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

Then how come we can have an unlimited amount of accounts of the last name "resident"?

Just and educated guess: Because maybe first names are stored as character?

A very simple SL user table would consist of a unique character field doubleing as table key (the UUID key), a character field (the first name) and an integer field (the last name). A new entry can only be created when the combination of the last two fields does not exist already. To get the real lastname you wuld have to link the table to an external lookup table that contains a unique integer key field and a unique character field.

Confused? https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Database_Fundamentals

Edited February 4, 2019 by Fionalein

[Ethan Paslong]

47 minutes ago, Christhiana said:

If you can find other residents who want to share that last name you can split the costs…

For example: Share a custom last name name with 50 other residents and everyone pays $20 for the first year and $10 for every next year.

a few difficulties :

Important: This program is not an avenue for changing your current SL name.

Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names (surnames). For example, "Smith" is not acceptable, but "SmithCorp," "SmithInc," "SmithProducts" or "SmithConstruction" are.

we do not provide bulk account registration for your custom surname. You must use the Reg API. ( so you must have a website and new sign ups...)

I don't think many will like a "corp or ltd , BV or other company parts in their name.

 

[chibiusa Ling]

7 minutes ago, Ethan Paslong said:

a few difficulties :

Important: This program is not an avenue for changing your current SL name.

Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names (surnames). For example, "Smith" is not acceptable, but "SmithCorp," "SmithInc," "SmithProducts" or "SmithConstruction" are.

we do not provide bulk account registration for your custom surname. You must use the Reg API. ( so you must have a website and new sign ups...)

I don't think many will like a "corp or ltd , BV or other company parts in their name.

 

In its current incarnation yes. But what if they adapted it and brought it up to date and removed those restrictions. Lowered the cost and re released it alongside name changes. Thats sort of where I was going with this. If you had the choice of "Change your name for $30" or "Get a custom last name for $60 with a recurring yearly $60 fee to maintain" then there are people in world who would go for that last option. $60 a year really isn't all that much if you break it down to $5 a month. Random pricing btw not stating thats what it should be. It would make at least a little extra revenue for the lab and could lead to lowered costs elsewhere if it was semi popular maybe?....maybe not?...

Edited February 4, 2019 by chibiusa Ling

[Christhiana]

7 minutes ago, Ethan Paslong said:

a few difficulties :

Important: This program is not an avenue for changing your current SL name.

Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names (surnames). For example, "Smith" is not acceptable, but "SmithCorp," "SmithInc," "SmithProducts" or "SmithConstruction" are.

we do not provide bulk account registration for your custom surname. You must use the Reg API. ( so you must have a website and new sign ups...)

I don't think many will like a "corp or ltd , BV or other company parts in their name.

 

Yes, that puts a serious limit on the usability as a family name, but one can probably find a creative way around that…..

[Christhiana]

1 minute ago, chibiusa Ling said:

In its current incarnation yes. But what if they adapted it and brought it up to date and removed those restrictions. Lowered the cost and re released it alongside name changes. Thats sort of where I was going with this. If you had the choice of "Change your name for $30" or "Get a custom last name for $60 with a recurring yearly $60 fee to maintain" then there are people in world who would go for that last option. $60 a year really isn't all that much if you break it down to $5 a month. Random pricing btw not stating thats what it should be. It would make at least a little extra revenue for the lab and could lead to lowered costs elsewhere if it was semi popular maybe?....maybe not?...

It would be especially nice if the person that registers the name could decide which other residents can use it. Of course every new resident with that name would still pay for it to Linden Lab.

[Syo Emerald]

They could make so much more money, if they adapted the program to fit the general public more, than a coporate clientle that doesn't really exits anymore. All those RP families, clans and "my-profile-is-all-about-our-love" people would go crazy, even if the deal was still a bit pricy.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

6 hours ago, Ethan Paslong said:

Last names must clearly be an organizational or corporate name, and distinguished from personal last names (surnames). For example, "Smith" is not acceptable, but "SmithCorp," "SmithInc," "SmithProducts" or "SmithConstruction" are.

I don't think many will like a "corp or ltd , BV or other company parts in their name.

Don't take the example too literally. Business names don't have to have those suffixes appended, they just can't be vague named that could be mistaken for regular last names. "Gucci" could be a valid last name because it is a known brand. (I don't know why that's the first example I can think of.)

That said, as much as I would like to be able to choose my own custom first/last name, I think we would end up with mostly poor name choices that don't really represent names. We would instead have a very similar problem to only telling the user to come up with a username, compared to a first/last name combo, which causes more people to use less "name-like" aliases. 

[chibiusa Ling]

1 hour ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

"Gucci" could be a valid last name because it is a known brand. (I don't know why that's the first example I can think of.)

Gurllllllll thats because you know Gucci is life!  (Yes I know your actually a guy)

 

1 hour ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

I think we would end up with mostly poor name choices that don't really represent names. We would instead have a very similar problem to only telling the user to come up with a username, compared to a first/last name combo, which causes more people to use less "name-like" aliases. 

Thats a fair point. I think if they did adapt it they would need to have some kind of authentication process because otherwise we would have names like "Daniel Wardbringer1572"

[Wulfie Reanimator]

3 minutes ago, chibiusa Ling said:

Gurllllllll thats because you know Gucci is life!  (Yes I know your actually a guy)

I'm not, though! I've mentioned it a couple times in some threads, I just don't get insecure about people not knowing. 😂

 

5 minutes ago, chibiusa Ling said:

Thats a fair point. I think if they did adapt it they would need to have some kind of authentication process because otherwise we would have names like "Daniel Wardbringer1572"

Besides restrictions like "no numbers or special characters, both names capitalized and only the first letter," I don't think there's a practical way to have an "authentication process" as you'd put too much of a wall between the platform and new users. (Especially if you're thinking manual review.)

[chibiusa Ling]

4 minutes ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

I'm not, though! I've mentioned it a couple times in some threads, I just don't get insecure about people not knowing. 😂

 

Besides restrictions like "no numbers or special characters, both names capitalized and only the first letter," I don't think there's a practical way to have an "authentication process" as you'd put too much of a wall between the platform and new users. (Especially if you're thinking manual review.)

Ohh I always thought you were a guy. Nvm hey girl!

Yes, no number restrictions and capitals would do as is to be honest. That and checking for offensive words and no special characters etc etc.