[Wikipedia-l] Getting rid of nicknames

Fri May 16 20:29:15 UTC 2003

> (Axel Boldt <axelboldt at yahoo.com>):
> 
> If I remember correctly, we initially implemented nicknames to
> accomodate users with offensive user names. This issue is now moot,
> since by consensus offensive user names are not allowed anymore.

Actually, I implemented the feature just because I wanted it.
I still think it's useful--I want my user page to be headed by
a complete name, but using that long name in attributing comments
seems like overkill. Plus, it gives people the ability to
personalize a bit while not hiding behind a psudonym entirely.

Like many features of the software, I think this one just gives
us a greater opportunity to judge the character of the user: if
someone changes nicknames to deliberately obscure the attribution
of comments, then we know how seriously to take those comments.

If users seriously abuse any feature of the software and disrupt
our goals, we can consider taking action. But I don't see this
particular feature as more abusable than any other.

-- 
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee at piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC