Username-change question.

[LumiOwl]

I've recently been considering a username change, but I've been wondering about how that all works as I've never actually done it before.

My main question... Does the previous name save at all? Will friends know who I am still? Will strangers know who I was? Or is there zero indication of your previous name once you change?

Edited April 3, 2023 by LumiOwl

[Quistess Alpha]

48 minutes ago, LumiOwl said:

Does the previous name save at all?

Kindof, but not really. you still have that name 'reserved' for you. If you pay the name change fee (again) you can change back to any old name you've had in the past. Calling cards may or may not change to your new name.

48 minutes ago, LumiOwl said:

Will friends know who I am still?

You will still be friends with your friends, and it will be obvious enough that you're you if your profile doesn't change and you still talk the same etc. If your friends not being suspicious is important to you, you can tell them in advance you plan to change your name so they won't get confused when you do so.

48 minutes ago, LumiOwl said:

Will strangers know who I was?

If someone searches your old name in the right way, they can link it to your new name, (I changed my name from 'quistessa' to 'quistess alpha'; https://my.secondlife.com/quistessa redirects to my new name) but I don't think there's an easy way to go the other direction. Still, I wouldn't rely on it if you need a clean break from your old self; in that case, you'd be better off making another account (hard to say whether that would be more or less expensive than the name change fee)

48 minutes ago, LumiOwl said:

Is there zero indication of your previous name once you change?

I don't think there's any indication, but in an abundance of caution, I'd think about it as 'very little' rather than 'zero'.

ETA: I have a friend who changed her name twice, the first time she changed her name, my chat logs got stuck together, (my chat log for the new name has all the chat history form the old name) the second time, the chat logs didn't connect (new file for the conversation log). People who have IM'd with you prior to the name change may or may not be able to 'scroll up' and see whatever they were talking about with you last.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Quistess Alpha

[Lindal Kidd]

Your name changes, but your UUID doesn't.