Guideline update: usernames

TheMix

Hey Mixlorians,

Your username in group chat can be used as a form of expression; you may use it to describe how you're feeling in that moment or show what you're struggling with. We don't want to change that - it's something we really value and we've noticed you do too.

It has been an unwritten rule for a while that group chat mods may ask you to change your username if they feel it's having an overall negative impact on the session. There are a tonne of reasons this might be, including if it's graphic, it's particularly heavy, it's too intense, the list goes on. There is also an argument to be made for a self-deprecating username discouraging conversation with that person because someone may not want to refer to that person by that name.

But because this hasn't been covered explicitly in our guidelines, it's led to some inconsistencies in what names have been allowed and what ones haven't. To tighten that up a bit and make the rules around that clearer, both for you folks and for our moderators, we've added this to the group chat guidelines:

How do I choose a username?

You will be automatically logged in as a guest on your first visit, but you can also create an account. If you have an account on the discussion boards, you might want to use the same name to help the community get to know you. Try and stick to the same username once you’ve picked one. It avoids confusion and helps you to settle in and build relationships with the group.

You're welcome to use a name that shows how you feel. If you choose a name like that, depending on what it is, a moderator may ask you to add a different name in brackets. This is just to make sure other members have something they're comfortable calling you by.  In extreme cases, you may also be asked to change it completely (e.g. if it uses triggering language) but this is rare.

The main thing here is that you can still use your username to express how you feel, but be mindful that a moderator may ask you to add a different name next to it so that people know what to call you. And like a lot of moderation-related stuff, it's the mods decision to make with their best judgement.

This probably won't be new information to most of you - mods have always had a bit of a say in usernames - but hopefully this makes things more consistent and easier to understand.

If you'd like us to clarify anything more specific, feel free to ask below.

Mike & the team