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What’s The Story Behind Your Avatar Name?


Saravendi
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12 minutes ago, Saravendi said:

Are any of you guys planning on changing your names? If so, to what?

Not a chance.  I like my name just fine. I don't use any of my alt accounts enough to justify paying the fee, even for the ones that are already Premium - not that there are any that I really hate their name much anyway.

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27 minutes ago, Saravendi said:

Are any of you guys planning on changing your names? If so, to what?

Not my name, no. But I suppose I could give poor Laskya a proper last name. I'm not sure it's worth it, but if I ever do decide to go premium, I might use her account instead of mine for that reason.

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5 hours ago, Saravendi said:

Are any of you guys planning on changing your names? If so, to what?

I'll only change mine if they add one of the last names I entered into the contest (Nelyafinwe). I'm just hoping that someone in the Lab is a fan of the Silmarillion.

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I actually think about that. My first idea was to change Saskia's first name. Even if I like it, there are some I like more. And then change the last name for her and for my other avatar so that they more sisters-like. I don't have totally separate personalities or roles for all my avis so this would work.

Can anyone remind me if the change is permanent, meaning if I change the name in the middle of my yearly premium and then I don't prolong the premium, I get Resident back or keep the new name? There are so many topics about that and many are just assumptions.

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20 minutes ago, Saskia Rieko said:

I actually think about that. My first idea was to change Saskia's first name. Even if I like it, there are some I like more. And then change the last name for her and for my other avatar so that they more sisters-like. I don't have totally separate personalities or roles for all my avis so this would work.

Can anyone remind me if the change is permanent, meaning if I change the name in the middle of my yearly premium and then I don't prolong the premium, I get Resident back or keep the new name? There are so many topics about that and many are just assumptions.

The change is permanent -- unless you pay to change it again.

 

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8 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

The change is permanent -- unless you pay to change it again.

 

I could be misunderstanding, but the way I understand it is that you only pay for a new name change. For example: you pay for a name change from 0 (original name) to 1 (new name.) You pay a second time to change it to 2 (second new name) - but at any time you can change it back to your original and any previously-purchased names without cost; you can "wear" any of these three names at-will: 0, 1, and 2.

I get this impression based on many comments made by @Oz Linden, mostly inferences, not outright described this way. So, it's akin to purchasing the name, as though it were an outfit: wear it whenever you want as you now own it. This is based on context of his comments and how he has described the feature. Though as always, I reserve the right to be status quo: wrongola. LOL

Edited by Alyona Su
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1 minute ago, Alyona Su said:

I could be misunderstanding, but the way I understand it is that you only pay for a new name change. For example: you pay for a name change from 0 (original name) to 1 (new name.) You pay a second time to change it to 2 (second new name) - but at any time you can change it back to your original and any previously-purchased names without cost.

I get this impression based on many comments made by Oz, mostly inferences, not outright described this way. So, it's akin to purchasing the name, as though it were an outfit: wear it whenever you want as you now own it.

I don't think we have seen it stated flat out that there will be no charge to go back to any previous name.  I'm not sure if they'll actually allow that for free or not.  I imagine they are going to want to discourage people from bouncing between names, so I could see some sort of fee associated with it.

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1 minute ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

I don't think we have seen it stated flat out that there will be no charge to go back to any previous name.  I'm not sure if they'll actually allow that for free or not.  I imagine they are going to want to discourage people from bouncing between names, so I could see some sort of fee associated with it.

That would make sense, too. Though the way it was inferred, there was not mention of pricing or a required payment. Then again, also was not the main focus of the comment, but rather an aside for inclusion - so you could be correct in that.

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Well, I'm quite sure that I'm going for a new first name at least, Taya String sounds good, doesn't it :P

Change of last name depends on what there is to choose from, but Taya will be my official first name as soon as possible!

 

48 minutes ago, Saskia Rieko said:

but I am a little concerned if canceling my premium affects the name change

And from what I have heard and read,  as LittleMe told you it earlier - The name you buy stays if you cancel your premium! Can not find the source here and now, but this was answered and verified by a Linden.

Edited by Angelina String
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2 hours ago, Saskia Rieko said:

Thanks LittleMe and Alyona, I guess it is not yet clear. I am not planning to intentionally come back to Resident but I am a little concerned if canceling my premium affects the name change. Hopefully not since it is paid separately. 

That part has been specifically stated that you will not lose your name change if you leave Premium status.

 

The only that that isn't known yet is whether or not someone would have to pay to go back to a prior name.

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Seikari is a mash of Japanese words that mean Light, Shadow and Spirit ( I'll let you figure out which ones ) as the name was the surname to a character I used to Role play with but due to certain things happening I hung that RPC up and haven't looked back. I guess my name was a way of keeping the ideas of the world my RPC is from alive and well as also referring to the fact that at the time I felt like a shadow of myself and when I came to SL I was trying to find my footing again after a very abusive relationship ( that I'm still dealing with the fall out from ) and wanted a fresh start in a place where the name Seikari wouldn't mean ***** to anyone here vs the place I am a escapee from ( if you seen any of my other posts you know the place of which I speak ) I took a year break when the drama of that place followed me to SL and just recently came back a few months ago when I felt safe enough to do so.  Since doing so and being open about my departure I have found a loving support system and family things I do not have in RL. 

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15 hours ago, Saskia Rieko said:

Thanks LittleMe and Alyona, I guess it is not yet clear. I am not planning to intentionally come back to Resident but I am a little concerned if canceling my premium affects the name change. Hopefully not since it is paid separately. 

That makes sense, I believe anyone who would relinquish "Resident" would and never come back to it. :) People in my case, though, is another thought: I'm considering changing my first name, but I'm also almost 14 years attached to "Alyona". This has always been my Universe Destination So knowing I can wear it again for a day during those times I may miss it would be helpful (and also prevent buyer's remorse.). :) If I would have to pay again to return to my original name, I'd think triply-hard before changing it to begin with.

@LittleMe Jewell - in hindsight (mostly, mind-percolating as I slept) I believe even more strongly now that once you purchase a name or ten, you can use any of them as easily as using a Display Name - like a menu to pick from. Here's why I think this: @Oz Linden did mention something (fuzzy memory on my part now) that I took as "all names must be unique..." and 'Whether using your new name or your old name..."

Why once-purchased, always available? Because if you are on the name purchasing system - you *cannot* purchase your original name because 1) If you have a second name, it will not be in the list and 2) it would not be an unique name. So the question is: would they spend the effort, time, and recources to build in a system specifically to charge money to revert to a previously owned name? Because the name is no longer just a "username" or "account name"; it is now a purchasable vanity product.

Edited by Alyona Su
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There's quite a story behind mine.

I an transgender in RL (female to male) and I made my avatar at a time in my life when I was considering, but hadn't started, transition. I had already chosen my new first name and middle name - Stephen Lewis; Stephen was chosen by my mum, it's what she would have called me if I'd been born a boy in the first place. She was originally going to name me Stephen Edward, but Edward got used for my younger brother, so I chose Lewis instead, as it's the male version of my original middle name.

So when I joined SL, I wanted Stephen, plus a last name that began with L, which is the first letter of my RL last name. There were, I think, four or five L names on the list at the time, and "Stephen" was already taken on all of them. So was "Steven" and "Steve". By this time I was frustrated so I tried Lewis instead, and Luminos was the first of the L names I tried for which Lewis was still available. 

In the end I liked Lewis better than Stephen, and two year later, when I legally changed my name, I used Lewis instead of Stephen. There might be a few people who choose an SL name that's the same as their RL name, but I bet there's not many who change their RL name to match their SL one!

As for the upcoming name change, and what I would like to have... I'm not in any way attached to Luminos, except that it begins with L, it doesn't have any particular meaning for me. My real last name had already been and gone before I joined SL. I'd like Lincoln, if that comes up, because it's the name of the town where I was born, or Littleton, which is almost my RL last name. Neither of those have been used before. I'll wait and see what comes up on the list and I may or may not bother. 

I definitely want to change one of my alts though.  Indra needs an Indian-sounding last name, ideally "Noor" which is what her display name has been set to ever since I made her (and also hasn't been used as a proper last name before). And I just realised how similar it is to Noir, even though it means the exact opposite.

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Not a very deep story behind mine. Had to choose a surname from a list provided by SL. Thought Vandyke was funny, cause of several reasons, one being it has Dutch origins and I am Dutch. I could not think of a first name really, so picked a piece of the name of an actress I had a bit of a crush on, Catherine Zeta Jones.

So that's it, Zeta Vandyke :)

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On 1/22/2020 at 8:01 PM, LittleMe Jewell said:

The only that that isn't known yet is whether or not someone would have to pay to go back to a prior name.

A change is a change and will cost the same (and require a Premium status) whether to a new name or back to a previous one.

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2 minutes ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

So why are you Oz?  There must be a story there.

No one told me I needed to pick a name until the Thursday night before my Monday start date, and the first 4 or 5 I came up with were rejected for one reason or another (most because they'd been used... we normally require that no Linden has ever used a name before). By Saturday night I was getting desperate and enlisted a bunch of my friends to come up with suggestions; one came up with Oz, and I texted the HR person and my soon-to-be boss and they said it was ok. I was coming in as the Open Source Director, and already had an 'Open Sourcerer' t-shirt (still do, but it's getting pretty ratty now), so the wizard angle was attractive (setting aside that the character was something of a fraud).

I won't deny that the fact that the then most popular of the third party viewers I'd be dealing with was 'Emerald' wasn't a factor (the friend who suggested it had no idea)...

and one more little bit of Linden lore... at work, nearly everyone is known primarily by their Linden name; there are plenty of people I've worked with here for years that I'd have a very hard time coming up with RL names for (makes creating LinkedIn connections a bit more difficult). I rather like being called "Oz" and it feels as natural to me as the name my parents gave me.

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4 minutes ago, Oz Linden said:

and one more little bit of Linden lore... at work, nearly everyone is known primarily by their Linden name; there are plenty of people I've worked with here for years that I'd have a very hard time coming up with RL names for (makes creating LinkedIn connections a bit more difficult). I rather like being called "Oz" and it feels as natural to me as the name my parents gave me.

Thank you for your story. :)  As for using avatar names, well, I suppose that shows a certain depth of immersion or involvement, like being called 'Skipper' on a ship.  I'd feel odd being called by my real name while Garnet does what she does (besides I'm not sure she fully approves of me anyway).

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Really enjoying reading everyone's name stories.

Selina is from Selina Kyle aka Catwoman. Big comic book geek here! :D And Heart was from the, then, drop down list that they had in Jan 2006. I just liked Heart as a last name. That said I haven't met many Hearts in SL in recent years. 

After 14 years I'm so used to my SL name that I can't imagine ever changing it.  It's very different if your last name is Resident, though. 

 

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I chose LadyShad0wz because I came from Halsoft Chat, aka VPChat, and it was there that I became a Lady of a manor full of vampires, so yeah it was based on RP purposes that I kept Lady Shad0wz, and as for Greymoon, I kept refreshing the last names at the time, and this one popped up 5 times in a row, and I thought it sounded all mysterious, and later on a friend said it even sounded like Celtic in a way too. Also at one time no one in SL had the name of LadyShad0wz with a Zero in replace of the O. I just decided to keep my name, but change my display name because I'm not very lady like. Even though I no longer RP as a Vampire, I do keep it as a reminder and just incase I do happen to get back into it. 

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