[Changes to Display Names Based on Your Feedback]

Jopsy,

I realize this was for Lamorna, but I feel as it is directed at people like me, a RL person who had never posted before. That means not as Griss Alexandre, or RL me using an alt account.

I posted Sep 22,2010 at 8:03 P.M. I did this because I felt like I had something original to say. No one has "canvassed" me in any way, shape, or form. Every opinion I stated was my own, after giving this quite a bit of thought, and not fed to me to repeat here or anywhere else. Also, I have not asked anyone else to post about this issue, or any other. I have not taken a poll or a survey about it, and I don't know what percentage of the residents have even heard of the issue.

I also do not go to Linden office Hours, as they usually conflict with my RL job. But I did take a late lunch and go to Jack Linden's office hour yesterday. I did this because I believe this is a BIG issue, and I do care strongly about this SL of ours. And I did want to make sure that he heard what I thought about this issue, and why.

I love coming to SL, and don't want that to change. I don't want the economy here to suffer any more than it has already, and I don't want people to abandon SL because of this issue. Will they? Only time will tell.

Although I have no way of knowing that it is "most", I agree pretty much with your first paragraph above which reads, "Again, most 'lay' users probably looked enough to see that this is "yet to come" not "useable now" and then ignored it." And, as far as what you said to Axi, I hope you are right.

I have read many eloquent posts here, in which it is obvious the person writing it took care in composing it, and explaining exactly what they believed, and why.

I cannot speak for any of them, but I can speak for myself, of what I write or say: I am Griss Alexandre and these are my opinions.

[Changes to Display Names Based on Your Feedback]

Jack Linden says that "The Display Names project also allows us to simplify the registration process. In the past, name choice has been a point at which many potential Residents abandon the process." I believe they have statistics on this, but I believe that they are lacking information that would allow these numbers to be analyzed accurately.

How many of us have browsed to that page, because we were just "thinking" of getting an alt account? And how many of us have played with making funny names? I have. (/me hangs head in shame)  I believe a large percentage of the people "almost" signing up for these accounts are doing just that. Especially if they know that every time they change the first name, a whole set of last names appears.  And they could be on a different computer, as in my case, so if LL is keeping track, it would be a different IP address, and appear to be a totally new user.

But, after playing the name game and contributing to the horrid sign up rates on a couple of different occasions, I finally found out about SLnamewatch.com. They make it easy to see ALL the available names, andallow you to pick the last name you want from their very long list.  Why does LL make it so much harder to pick a decent name combo at their own website?  If LL allows these outside "portals" to have this much-improved naming process, why can't they adopt it for themselves?

And to elaborate what many have said:

Having a unique first /last name makes the SL experience so much richer, from sign up onward. Although I am older than dirt, I do remember signing up, and I liked the idea of having a "real" first & last name. If I had known then what I know now, I may not of picked this exact name, but it is mine, and I have built my unique experience in Second Life with it.

And, as far as there being so many last names in use already, and maybe we will run out? According to SLnamewatch.com, there are 10,880 known last names. That is hardly all last names in existance in RL, or that could be made up from a LL employee's  imagination. Having one (user)name, instead of a first & last name, makes that a possibility of running out of names happen so much sooner.

And of course once the legible names are all taken, what will we have then? Will a totally new resident understand how this username will work in SL so they can properly create it? Will people really like having an illegible user name?

Will this establish a system for prejudice in SL? Older residents not wanting to have anything to do with to the younger ones, finding it too difficult to communicate with the youngsters with their long unpronounceable usernames? That certainly does not sound like LL's (or my) vision of what SL should be.

I do not want anyone running around with my name over their head. For the many reasons already stated in this thread.

What will this do to all of our scripts? I certainly don't know how to change/fix them.

When I roleplay, I dont stay in that sim all the time, or all day even, so being able to change the username only occasionally will be of no use to me.

No one can put "Linden" in a username over their head? But they can use my exact name? To use an old expression,  "What's fair for the goose should be fair for the gander."

LL, if you are intent on changing the sign up/name process, my suggestion is to forget the username idea, and have the sign up process of picking names like SLnamewatch.com. Be able to see ALL available last names. Be able to pick one, and add the first name of your choice, as long as it is not already taken- DONE.  FAST, EASY, FUN!!