This is more of a question than a support request.
Does Discourse have any features which can assist with encouraging people to choose friendly and recognizable usernames or display names? I am looking to avoid things like user64768723, which was made all too popular by StackOverflow, unfortunately, or things like UhnSJuhfeiwfwAS
I could imagine several things from showing a small guideline before registration happens to automatic screening of names of undesired patterns. Are there any such features that we can already use?
Interesting idea! If you do it, please just make sure that there is a sufficient variety of names. If it’s a random choice of only a hundred alternatives, with some numbers added, names will quickly start becoming very similar. For a healthy community, it’s important that names are sufficiently recognizable and distinguishable.
For some childrens’ websites they have nonsense words like RainyGrassBacon and BrickPanPineapple Maybe on Discourse something based on the real name field would be good.
What about suggested username based on the real name field (if used)? I’ve had another person today mention in passing that she was “trying to think up a username”. I think many people do hate having to think of one.
I dunno, this just comes up so rarely in practice. And I feel “give me a random username” would encourage people to think of their identities as disposable, like Reddit does. That’s… not good. Not good at all.
I could support it as a plugin but I would never include it in core.
Maybe on Discourse something based on the real name field would be good.