I've seen that there are a lot of people who joined a long time ago and who's last activity was on the day they joined, like they just joined for the sake of joining and never did anything. What's really a shame is a lot of these people have canon names, so the active users can't get these canon names just because some fair weather members who have no intention of ever being active already took them. I'll go ahead and make a list of some of the ones I've noticed who have done this or very close to it: -Rarity: Joined October 8, 2012, made 3 posts, and has been inactive since October 10, 2012 -Apple Bloom: Joined August 13, 2011, made 0 posts, and has been inactive since August 13, 2011 -Pinkie Pie: Joined November 18, 2012, made 0 posts, and has been inactive since November 18, 2012 -Twilight Sparkle: Joined December 3, 2011, made 0 posts, and has been inactive since December 3, 2011 -Princess Cadance: Joined May 8, 2012, made 0 posts, and has been inactive since May 9, 2012 I think it's a shame that the really active users have to miss out on getting canon names like those because they were snagged by people who never do anything, who probably only joined because they wanted the thrill of saying they have those names. I think there needs to be some requirement for people who want to have and keep canon names, because names like that are in high demand for new people joining these kind of forums, and the members who want them shouldn't have to lose out to people who more than likely will never come back. There needs to be a rule like "if you want to keep a canon name, you must have a certain amount of activity on the site every month" or "if your account is completely inactive for one month, you will lose your canon name." As for what happens to their account, make it so they get an email like the ones they get for password changes, where it informs them of the name change and then tells them what their new name is, making it just some random name like Joe. (Before you say anything, yes I realize the irony that I have a canon character name and I'm the one suggesting this. I realize that if these rules are enacted it means I'll need to abide by them as well)
[video=youtube;ClXAaGoT5eE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClXAaGoT5eE[/video] I'm sure I speak for the mods here when I say that rule would not be fun to enforce. They'd have to go around every once in a while booting people off the site (they can't contact them and tell them to change their name since they're inactive, right?) just because a few people think that canon names should be reserved for regulars. Besides, you don't have to have a canon character name to make people like you or anything. I actually like a person more the first time I meet them depending on how original their name is, but that's just my RP self taking over. :derpe:
I's be more than willing to create a master list of available and taken canon names myself. Then, any time a new member joins with a canon name, I could move the name from the list of available ones to the list of taken ones. That way they wouldn't need to go through the whole member list every time. PS: As for being able to contact the people, the mods could just use the email accounts the people used to register. If the people don't get the email, who cares? It's not like they're active or care what's happening here anyway.
Before this discussion goes any further, is it really that important for people to be able to use canon names? Do note that for roleplaying purposes, you can set yourself up with an RP name that will appear instead of your username, but only within the RP section of the forums. Anyway, taking away the names of people who already registered on these forums (especially without their permission) is something we simply won't do. Even if they're inactive.
It's not like they'd miss the names. After all, if they've been gone for a year and a half, they probably don't even remember they have an account here.
I agree with Rarit E, and that's what's going to happen anyway, but my opinion would be that no one gets to use canon names. For several reasons, but it doesn't matter anyway, cuz they wouldn't do that either. "Rarity: Joined October 8, 2012, made 3 posts, and has been inactive since October 10, 2012" - Honestly I would've thought all canon names woulda been taken in the first couple months after the forums' birth. Speaking of, you have a canon name OP, so why does this matter to you? Unless you wanted one that was already taken? And how are you so sure you'll be active several months from now? That was rhetorical btw, I'm just giving you something to think about, so don't feel like you have to defend yourself.
I know; I just think it seems like a shame that such important names as the names of the mane six are being withheld from active users because they're being used by people who don't do anything with them. I'm not really suggesting this for me- I am in fact happy with my own username- I'm suggesting it for the sake of people who don't have canon names but would like to have them if given the chance. PS: When you mentioned how odd it is that the name Rarity went unused for so long, it reminded me of something I discovered earlier. Apparently, the names Applejack and Princess Celestia are still available.
And if we made those names available, we'd prolly have to hold a lottery to see who gets them. I'd imagine there'd be more than one person interested in each name. Really? That honestly surprises me. I was under the impression all canon names would have been taken long ago. Weird.
I think there was a time when registering with a canon username simply wasn't possible, that's why those names were still available for so long. (And the one reason why i'm Rarit E and not Rarity ) Anyway, if someone wants a canon username on the forums outside of the RP area, they can always request a name change and we can see if the name is still available, but that's all we can do. If a username is taken, it is taken until that user willingly requests another name.
I'm against this idea, but it seems as though everybody's beaten me to the reasons haha. >It'd be tedious. >It'd be next to pointless >Booting old members out of their names due to inactivity isn't fair >It's going to make things overly complicated for those that /do/ want them. Honestly, if somebody wants the name /that/ badly, they could just spend the extra 5 minutes during registration to figure out what names are taken and what names are not. Even more so, we offer name changes here on the site for willing members, so you could even do so /after/ signing up. Sorry, but this idea seems completely unnecessary to me, and many others. The only way this would be implemented at this point would be if a miracle occurred.
