Advance notice of changes to some user names
Posted by Huw,
When user accounts were first introduced on the site back in the early 2000s I decided to allow spaces in user names because at the time there wasn't really a good reason not to.
Now, however, it makes it impossible to implement user tags, e.g. @huw, in comments and elsewhere, which nowadays are an increasingly important feature of forums, social media sites and so on.
So, next week I will be running a script to replace spaces in user names with underscores, which will enable support for user tags to be added sometime after.
So, if your name is currently 'The LEGO Fan' it will become 'The_LEGO_Fan'. and if there is already a 'The_LEGO_Fan' in the database you'll become 'The_LEGO_Fan2'. Also, the 6 users whose name begins with an @ will have it removed.
Around 10,000 users currently have spaces in their names and about 40 of those will need to have a 2 appended to the end to avoid duplication.
If you're going to be affected and you don't fancy underscores in your name you may want to change your username manually.
I apologise for any inconvenience and if you have any questions or concerns let me know in the comments.
Thanks to Johnny_Thunder97 for the reminding me to get this sorted.
Update 7 October: This has now been done.
106 likes
44 comments on this article
I_didn’t_even_know_you_could_have_spaces
_in_your_user_name.
I currently have a space in my name but I'd prefer no space instead of an underscore so I'll be changing manually. Thanks for the head's up.
So what will happen to my name? Stay the same im guessing?
we need to be more creative if we already have 97 Johnny_Thunders :D
Luckily I don't have spaces.
Space removed. It certainly looked better with it.
My username is the same one I used on club.LEGO.com, which never allowed spaces, so I have nothing to worry about.
Truly appreciate the effort you put into this site!
Thanks for the heads-up (though I don't need it myself). This is the responsible way to run a website.
Maybe message the affected users somehow? Or at least the ones with "2"s being added, they're going to be VERY confused if they miss this notice.
Cool
Hello Huw, I am not personally affected by this change, but I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you and the staff at Brickset for the ongoing efforts you are making to make everyone comfortable and happy on this website ! Cheers for your kindness and everlasting energy !
Will exclamation marks be affected by this change too?
I reject this premise
@Minidolls are great!
No, they'd have said so if that was the case.
It would probably be a good idea to e-mail those people too, if possible, in case they're logged out and find they can't log in because of the change they didn't know about.
Oh no! I am gonna space out!
If it is needed for comment search, then I'm ready!
Looking forward to the user tag feature, it will be easier to see when someone reacts to your comment.
I would have preferred the Stack Exchange approach where @ names are computed based on the username, but enh. This will work I guess.
Not sure if it’s possible but maybe put a message on the failed-login page, with the details and/or a link to this post? Would save a lot of headaches both for the affected users and admins.
Dammit! I was just thinking this morning to changing my name to " ". I'm not sure I fancy "_____________".
Thanks Huw! Of course it impacts on some users regarding the name changes, but I think most would agree it will massively increase ability for discussion in the comments section!
"A small price to pay for salvation."
Rip my name
My username is one word, so I'm fine. My brother's is a bunch of words but there's no spaces in there already. However, a username of "0_0" is now possible if your username was "0 0".
Underscores_are_also_now_a_vital_component_of_Brickset_at_last.
Note: Following implementation of the changes, Benny will be a character inspired by the "Classic Underscore" theme.
What about users who share the same username but one had spaces and the other already had underscores (eg. The LEGO Fan & The_LEGO_Fan)? Does the one with the spaces become one with underscores but with a "2" added to the end (ie. The_LEGO_Fan & The_LEGO_Fan2)?
"The six users who have @ in your names..."
Lol, there's always one! Errr.. six...
A word of warning - if you change your username manually, it will log you out and you’ll have to log back in. The homepage also looks very empty and you need to click the ‘view more articles’ button to get the homepage view you’re used to. I thought I’d change myself early and fortunately no numbers required!
I already have an underscore :).
- Did you know that when I was younger, in Swedish, the word for underscore we used back then was "matta" - or translated - carpet. Yup. We have a serious IKEA problem over here.
So ppl will finally be able to comment directly to a post rather then the OP finding it manually? There needs to be a quote function.
Well, this is a change that is worth noting. I am aware that my username does currently have a space after changing it maybe a year or two ago. I'm sure I'll be fine with the addition of an underscore to my name. It won't change things too much after all
Wow, Huw's knowledge of computer skills is waaaaaay above mine. Let's just all be glad he is so willing to help this site be great!
I've already have "2" in my name.
It is great for someone of your skills to let us know.
It's great to see it's already been decided to replace the spaces with underscores. I was afraid you might just remove the space, making my name, for example, 'CFMitch' which I wouldn't have really liked.
So, glad it will be this instead, and good luck with the work required!
Regards.
Mitch
Based on the latest reports, Mars is not in need of underscores.
SpaceCut. Spacecut! SPACECUT!!!
So, just like Lego, you dropping Space too? So cold :(
This doesn't effect me or my username, but thank you for the heads up!
So the @minifig_man tags are already active?