We will change the default behaviour to show both the Display Name and the unique Username if the two names do not match. If they do match, we will show just one (Display Name). Residents can still change this behaviour in preferences.Jack,
If I read correctly, and as per the current FAQs, you are not allowing spaces, dots or hyphen in the username?
If correct, it would mean that you will not be giving the ability for someone to choose John Smith as his name to be converted into john.smith as username. I think that needs to happens (one space need to be allowed when entering a name which ressemble to "First Last" with the space converting to john.smith as username. (The additional problem if you don't allow dots to identify spaces as such, will be the inability to detect a match between the username "johnsmith" (without a dot) and the Display name "John Smith", because technically I dont' think you can figure out where the word split was past the FIRST Display Name change... In such circumstance and according to what you said a quoted here, "johnsmith" would be seen as NON-MATCH with the display name "John Smith", and show both which is not making too much sense...
Therefore, I also strongly suggest for you to keep "First and Last names" as well in the signup as a legacy option. e.g. Blue Mars is currently giving an optional use of First and Last Names that can be changed, after choosing a unique username (which allows hyphens), and good options to deal with how your name should display afterwards... If Blue Mars is smart enough to accomodate and use that culture, why the hell would you repel it completely? Please keep it as well.
That way you keep that Second Life cultural legacy open, and let people choose a username with no spaces or a first and last name format with a dot placed in the username. Whether the last name is a list of given names or self determined, I don't know, maybe both... but removing the cultural legacy of choosing a "first and last name" format completely would be criminal. Philip (Rodesale) said at SLCC that it was "cute" as I recall. It's not just to be qualified as cute and to be axed like that, it's a culture of 5+ years you are messing with... A culture that Blue Mars understood and implemented rather well as this window shows.
For not having seen the future registration process clarified on this level, I would appreciate if you could give more details on that process and whether you will allow what I explained here.
i.e. As a user I want to keep the ability to choose a username like john.smith that will also default as display name John Smith, just like current names and/or be given the ability to choose a Last name in the future as alternate option during registration.