Screen Names & Continuity

In my experience as a message board admin there are few things more confusing than the slippery slope of allowing the changing poster names. While that is possible at the moment here on AN (an error on my part, frankly), we're going to shut that option off. The reason is that folks get to know each other as "Chris" or "Ona" or "Kate" and the ability to change screen names at will has the effect of disrupting the continuity of our discussions, let alone being confusing. Since the objective here is to talk to each other, learn from each other, and support each other in our meditation practice and continuity of names supports that end, we're not going to allow name changes. I hope this makes sense to you. I've been a participant and an admin on message boards where folks were allowed to both register multiple screen names and change existing screen names and little continuity and very little real communication took place on those boards. That's just not what we want to have happen here.

Changing your avatar or icon image will still be allowed.

Thanks, and please feel free to weigh in with comments or questions.

I understand the anonymity issue and user requests will be granted as long as they're not too frequent on a user by user basis.

I have been manifested!

I can certainly handle special requests, especially if the original name was dorky or mistyped. As to anonymity, presumably someone sensitive to that would have probably opted to not enter their name in the first place. But again, special requests can be handled by admins.

Unfortunately, I have to hack the site code to disable that field and I am spent with my kid's hockey game (went to THREE overtime periods) so it will have to wait until the morning. So you have until then to do what you want.

Your site HGA has now disabled editing of your screen name. If for some reason you wish to change your name, submit your plea to a site administrator.

So what we now have, I hope, is name continuity with some flexibility.

Thanks, Tom.