Full Name (First Last)

If you are inviting someone to join this forum, please do, but remember to let them know that we use first and last names here rather than handles. Pseudonyms are fine, but only when they look real. I go through the registrations at least once a day and I reject those that aren't using first and last names.

 

It's interesting how many people register for a new account with one name or a handle. One person has registered for three days in a row now, each time with a handle.

For people viewing the site who don't have a login, this is at the top of the page.

When they try to register an account, it is stated again, just below the name field.

 

I would estimate that approximately fifty percent of the new registrations use a handle or something other than a first and last name, and are rejected. That's not actually so bad when you consider that many of these are probably spammers who don't read anything. They are unlikely to be bots, though, because our anti-spammer security does a pretty good job of catching any automated logins, which are flagged separately. Although I review them before rejecting them, I don't think I've ever found one that was flagged as a spammer that seemed to be anything but. Most are from either Russia, China, or the Mideast.

 

No, there has not been any change in this policy. Most of the time, when someone registers an account with something other than a first and last name that looks real, I will reject the registration and they will have to sign up again. I used to let the forum auto-accept them, but then it would be up to me to nag them about changing their names, and eighty percent of them never would, either because they never logged in again or because they were just here to spam the forum, anyhow.

About half of those who did were angry with me because they thought the policy was stupid and they didn't like my nagging them about it. That's not a good start, so I started rejecting those that didn't follow the name convention. There are a few people who snuck in when I wasn't paying close attention because their names are not what I would ordinarily consider a real (looking) name.

Every now and then, someone will log in with a handle rather than a name, but I know who they are, either because I actually know who they are (rare) or because they are using an email address that checks out without a whole lot of work on my part. In such a case, I might accept the registration and send them a private message about changing it. Then, I'll give them a day or two. So when you see someone with what is obviously a handle, that would probably be the case. The policy hasn't changed, but I handle some registrations differently because it makes sense to do so.

If it seems clear to me that 1) this is a real person; 2) s/he is probably not going to spam us; 3) s/he is likely to be 50 or older; and 4) it's likely that s/he actually does want to become a part of this forum; then I might decide to accept the registration and deal with the name later.

 

I still reject about a third of new registrations for using a handle rather than a first and last name.

 

I messaged you for more information, @Teresa Levitt .

 

He is approved. I changed the login name from all lower case to a capital "S" and a capital "L" so he is good to go. I am not sure if the login is case-sensitive or not, so he might need to use the capital for the first letter of each name to login.

 

That happens sometimes. I can right the avatar photo easily enough. Let me know if you want me to. I don't want to be doing something while he may be doing the same thing, as that could be confusing.