Last Names List-How Often Will It Change?

[Cate Heartsong]

On 5/1/2020 at 10:58 PM, LittleMe Jewell said:

The place where you see the current list of last names is where you keep checking.  In the past, LL never notified us that names were being added or removed from the list, people simply discovered it by constantly reviewing the list.

I have looked on the blog post which is currently a jpg of the the last names listed.  Where did that jpg come from?  I don't have a premium account yet so I want to see when they update names. Then if I see one I like, I will get a premium account and have the ability to change.

[Cate Heartsong]

17 hours ago, Christina Mysterious said:

Sooooo they did post new ones from their blog post?  I didn't see some of them before.  I would like to know where to see the updated list or do I need to get a premium account in order to see it?

 

Takeda  /Conundrum /Dismantled /Huntsman/ Littlepaws /Nova/ Ravenhurs/t Wumpkins/ Yeetly Covfefe/ Lemongrass /Salty/ Alpha/ Melodious/ Hijinks/ Mainsai/l Mysterious/ Ichibara/ Kiyori/ Voxel /Hexem/ Damballar /Vanilla/ Banana/ Pancake/ Timmerman/ Enchantment /Whimsy/ Atheria /Rowley/ Doge/ Dallas/ Jazzhands/ Leeder /Nimble/ Crisp/ Plumday/ Heartsong /Rumrunner /Peppermint /Puddles/ Alpaca/ Float/ Bellisserian/ Piggins/ Cloud/ Resident /Mercury/

 

 

 

[LittleMe Jewell]

32 minutes ago, girl Footman said:

I have looked on the blog post which is currently a jpg of the the last names listed.  Where did that jpg come from?  I don't have a premium account yet so I want to see when they update names. Then if I see one I like, I will get a premium account and have the ability to change.

You do not have to have a Premium account to see the list.  Go to your Dashboard - https://secondlife.com/my - and under Account (on the left side) click on Change Name.  If you do not have a Premium account, you will see the following:

Edited May 8, 2020 by LittleMe Jewell

[Cate Heartsong]

1 minute ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Thank you so much!  I was wondering where to find it!!! ❤️

 

You do not have to have a Premium account to see the list.  Go to your Dashboard - https://secondlife.com/my - and under Account click on Change Name.  If you do not have a Premium account, you will see the following:

 

[Wulfie Reanimator]

Oh good, they made the list available to all.

When name changes first launched, you couldn't see the list if you didn't have Premium.

[Jennifer Boyle]

On 5/1/2020 at 11:04 AM, Alwin Alcott said:

Your account is tied to your RL, once signed up it is always yours, even after years, or even deleting.

It is just stupid not to allow reuse of names that were used by deleted accounts. What could it hurt?

I think LL made a major mistake by having our names be the same as our login IDs. Sure, login credentials must be unique, but there's no reason for names to be. I just searched whitepages.com for "Jennifer Boyle," and it found over 100. Guess what? It isn't a problem, even though IRL people deal in real money, have real bank accounts, have real credit card accounts, real contracts, etc. If it isn't a problem for people to have the same name IRL, where the stakes are far higher, it surely shouldn't be in SL.

Am I wrong? If you think so, tell me why.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Jennifer Boyle
Punctuation error

[Alwin Alcott]

1 minute ago, Jennifer Boyle said:

It is just stupid not to allow reuse of names that were used by deleted accounts.
Am I wrong? If you think so, tell me why.

starting with the last.. think there's no right or wrong but a choice of LL how to handle their data... "deleted" accounts... don't exist .. the accounts stay where they are, only the links between logins and access are gone. ( as far i know and understand old answers about this)
Problem is, many accounts aren't deleted, but just stopped loging in.. if there were rules like "have to log in at least once a year"  would solve a lot i think... but i don't know that's possible with sign ups tied so close to RL info and often.. payment methods.

[LittleMe Jewell]

8 hours ago, Jennifer Boyle said:

It is just stupid not to allow reuse of names that were used by deleted accounts. What could it hurt?

So, if Catwa decided she'd had enough of this place and decided to leave and actually have her account deleted, it would be okay for someone else to come along and reuse the name?

There are many other creators in SL from long ago that have left, some of which have actually had their accounts deleted, but they are still listed as the creator of the things they made.  Why should someone else get to use that name now that the original person is gone?

[Jennifer Boyle]

3 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

So, if Catwa decided she'd had enough of this place and decided to leave and actually have her account deleted, it would be okay for someone else to come along and reuse the name?

First, addressing your example; if the Catwa Clip account were closed, Catwa would still be a registered trademark (see http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:jm6pww.2.2), until the owner, Huda Abdi Hathal Alsulaili Alenzi, cancelled the registration or let it lapse, and it would still be infringement subject to legal action if someone sold the virtual goods listed in the registration under that name if the owner chose to pursue it. However, if the owner of the account wanted to prevent reuse of the name, all it would take is to keep the account open, which costs nothing more than logging in for a minute every couple of years.

When I click on an account name for a defunct in the object properties, it brings up the profile, with no indication that the account is not current. It is also shown in lists of group members, but it can't be found in search. I still have the calling card in my inventory. Wonder why there's no indication of the status in the profile?

3 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

There are many other creators in SL from long ago that have left, some of which have actually had their accounts deleted, but they are still listed as the creator of the things they made.  Why should someone else get to use that name now that the original person is gone?

Why not? As I wrote previously, IRL, we not only reuse names, but hundreds or thousands of people use the same one simultaneously, and it works fine. IRL, we understand that, unless names are unusual, they are unlikely to be unique, and we take that into account. In SL, so far, and probably forever, names have been unique, so we expect that. If they were reused, we'd adjust our expectations to approximate our RL expectations. And in SL, there are UUIDs, and rez  days that would never be the same for two accounts with the same name.

On another note, what is the rationale for using limited, rotating panels of last names? I think it's a source of frustration for people when they don't really like any of the names currently on offer. Why not offer a much larger pool, and  replace one when the number of accounts using it reaches some limit? I visualize the new user starting to type and seeing a list of names contain the character string they have typed, that gets shorter each time they add a letter. Seems a lot more user-friendly to me. I don't know if it's still the same, but I remember the frustration associated with getting a first name. I'd type in my first, second, and 50th, choices, and it would say it wasn't available, but wouldn't give any information about what was. Commonly, sites that have a similar process tell users what similar names are available. Wonder why SL doesn't? Or maybe it does now?
 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Jennifer Boyle
Added info

[Jennifer Boyle]

11 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

starting with the last.. think there's no right or wrong but a choice of LL how to handle their data... "deleted" accounts... don't exist .. the accounts stay where they are, only the links between logins and access are gone. ( as far i know and understand old answers about this)
Problem is, many accounts aren't deleted, but just stopped loging in.. if there were rules like "have to log in at least once a year"  would solve a lot i think... but i don't know that's possible with sign ups tied so close to RL info and often.. payment methods.

I've observed that accounts can still be found in search for a few years after they stop logging in, and then they can't. I presume that when they can't, it means the account is closed, which is probably a better term to use than deleted..

[LittleMe Jewell]

18 minutes ago, Jennifer Boyle said:

I'm not sure how it works when you click on a creator's name in object properties, and the account is defunct. I can't readily find something made by someone whose account I know is closed. Do you know?

If the account was actually deleted, you will not find the profile via search, but if you have an item created by the person, you can still get the profile by clicking the creator via properties.  The original account never 100% goes away.
 

18 minutes ago, Jennifer Boyle said:

As I wrote previously, IRL .....

It has been stated and shown, time and again, that SL is not RL  - and many, many things are done differently in SL than in RL.  RL anything is not really an argument for why something should or should not be done in SL.

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by LittleMe Jewell

[Alwin Alcott]

18 minutes ago, Jennifer Boyle said:

I've observed that accounts can still be found in search for a few years after they stop logging in, and then they can't. I presume that when they can't, it means the account is closed, which is probably a better term to use than deleted..

just two hours ago a old account popped up in the Answers section, didn't log in since 2010, but was still in search ( she didn't log inworld, only the forums, otherwise her last login would have changed in today ).. so i'm not sure they get closed.
It might be totally random when they disappear. Out of experience i know the name is saved somewhere, it's possible to be reactivated.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Alwin Alcott

[Jennifer Boyle]

Since this discussion started, I checked on an account of a friend who abruptly stopped logging in in August, 2014. I know it could be found in search a few years later, but it wasn't there today.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Jennifer Boyle
spelling

[Lindal Kidd]

Free accounts stay around pretty much forever, although if a free account gets hacked and is used to do things that violate the Terms of Service, it could get deleted.  Premium accounts only stay active until their payment method fails, such as when a credit card expires.  If not updated and past due charges paid, LL will delete these accounts.

[Wulfie Reanimator]

16 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Free accounts stay around pretty much forever, although if a free account gets hacked and is used to do things that violate the Terms of Service, it could get deleted.  Premium accounts only stay active until their payment method fails, such as when a credit card expires.  If not updated and past due charges paid, LL will delete these accounts.

I'm pretty sure the correct term is suspend, not outright delete.

Edit: The difference between the two words is pretty clear even to a layman, lol. Suspended/banned = Can't use. Deleted = Doesn't exist.

Or are you saying someone else could create an account with the same name as a suspended account? So if the original account comes back to pay its bills, we now have two active avatars with identical usernames? Whose username is it anyway? 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Lindal Kidd]

Another one for the List...

[AdminGirl]

20 hours ago, Jennifer Boyle said:

First, addressing your example; if the Catwa Clip account were closed, Catwa would still be a registered trademark (see http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:jm6pww.2.2), until the owner, Huda Abdi Hathal Alsulaili Alenzi, cancelled the registration or let it lapse, and it would still be infringement subject to legal action if someone sold the virtual goods listed in the registration under that name if the owner chose to pursue it. However, if the owner of the account wanted to prevent reuse of the name, all it would take is to keep the account open, which costs nothing more than logging in for a minute every couple of years.

When I click on an account name for a defunct in the object properties, it brings up the profile, with no indication that the account is not current. It is also shown in lists of group members, but it can't be found in search. I still have the calling card in my inventory. Wonder why there's no indication of the status in the profile?

Why not? As I wrote previously, IRL, we not only reuse names, but hundreds or thousands of people use the same one simultaneously, and it works fine.
 

Many online accounts (or most? I dunno) require a unique username. It does suck if someone has taken a name you really want and they don't even use SL anymore. But imagine the mess if we were allowed to have the same names or reuse names and the search function would require you to then pay attention to unique details like UUID, start date etc. I think it would also be alot easier to scam others. I mean, people get scammed enough now as it is.

[LittleMe Jewell]

14 hours ago, Wulfie Reanimator said:

14 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Free accounts stay around pretty much forever, although if a free account gets hacked and is used to do things that violate the Terms of Service, it could get deleted.  Premium accounts only stay active until their payment method fails, such as when a credit card expires.  If not updated and past due charges paid, LL will delete these accounts.

I'm pretty sure the correct term is suspend, not outright delete.

Yep, to both of you.

Initially LL will lock the account and it cannot be unlocked without paying whatever is due.  Somewhere down the road, at least 6 months and less than roughly 12 months, the account will no longer show in Search and will no longer appear in any Groups.  Whether the account is truly deleted on LL's side or not, I have no clue.  However, if you have an item created by the person, you can still get to their profile that way. 

The above is stated based on my own experience with my RL mother's account.  She became ill and let her credit card expire during the time.  At one point, she tried to log in, but owed a delinquent Premium fee and tier fees (due to donating more than her 512 sqm to a group).  She decided she wasn't healthy enough, with enough interest in SL, to pay the back amount (elderly on fixed income & all).  At some point, her account stopped showing in Search - sometime between that 6 & 12 month point, if I'm remembering correctly. That was over 5 years ago, however, since I have a few items created by her, I can still get to her old profile.

One of the Lindens even commented here in the forums once to confirm that delinquent accounts are not deleted immediately, but allowed to stay in a locked state for a while. 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by LittleMe Jewell

[synsera Myanamotu]

It would be great since we have the fee associated with the name change to have the option to submit a specific last name to change too.   

[Lydia Amethyst]

January 17, 2021 and still waiting on another batch of new last names. this is me pleading. please give us some new name options. I am really wanting to get rid of the nooby resident one, pleasee

[Lewis Luminos]

15 hours ago, AlyceAdrift said:

January 17, 2021 and still waiting on another batch of new last names. this is me pleading. please give us some new name options. I am really wanting to get rid of the nooby resident one, pleasee

They have not changed the list in full since it was launched (April last year).  They changed a small number of them about 2 months ago (6 months after the launch).

I would not expect any new names before April 2021 and at the rate of 4-6 new names every 6 months, it will take around 5 years before we're seeing a whole new list.

This assumes that the new owners keep up the changes at the same rate. They may not bother at all, and just leave the list as it is in-perpetuity.