To suggest banning "usernumber" names

[intheknickersoftime]

By God, people who don't have proper nicknames are annoying. Get a name, I can't tell the difference between you all!!! And you're usually the most opiniated.

Am actually laughing at 'newbie bashing' - hardly a week goes by before a newbie starts a thread to say that we are all mean and horrible

I'm relatively used to forums. I can't say I've tried particularly hard, but it's certainly not blindingly obvious how to change my name. I've done it on mumsnet local but somehow not on the main one.

Userxxxx names are annoying but what's even more irritating is the constant stream of threads about it!

If you look in site stuff, that has the 5 squillion other threads (along with all the other 'can we have xxxxx' threads )

I do agree that usernumber names are basically a signal to ignore the post though - people changing their names might find more people willing to listen /interact with them

Maybe I use forums in a different way, but I just read each post and reply if I wish. I don't feel the need to follow someone's name in particular. Plus, people can change their names hourly in theory, so it really doesn't matter. It's just an internet forum.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is I think people have a problem with userXXXX not being memorable enough, but if people can and do change their names frequently (wise, IMO) it's basically the same thing, I think?

I think Mumsnet is different from other forums as the threads are like conversations. If you comment on say the guardian website you can comment specifically on that individuals post whereas here if you want to pick up on what another poster has said here you have to refer to them by name. We can't all be shouting at each other with userbot names. That's why in my opinion it makes a mockery of any long threads with differing points of view. I have posted on Mumsnet for a few years under various different names but I do recognise some posters from when I started posting six years ago. A name is important, even if it's just something that you can see in front of you (underpantsonfloor, anyone?) , your job, your cat's name, If it's not easy to change then it should be.

I have no problem with newbies I was one many, many years ago!

I just find it irritating, especially when you have multiple Users in a thread to differentiate them and also respond to the right person.

At first I thought it was people being lazy, but apparently not. Some new members don't seem to be able to name change and MNHQ are aware of this.

It's on their roadmap to fix.....

user3459 I have been on a thread where the OP (who had a username name) was accused of being a troll because she had apparently contradicted herself on another thread. A quick check revealed that it wasn't in fact the same poster, her name was different by a few numbers. That's why people prefer names.

I see. That wouldn't bother me personally, as I don't troll-hunt. I just read posts/threads and don't get involved any deeper than what I read at the time. Number names are unique. If posters want to check up on userxxxx for whatever reason, there should be no confusion. Might take a bit more effort admittedly as we don't all remember numbers so easily.

Apparently newbies find the zombie warning 'offputting'.

Do you mean the little zombie himself, (he appears to be gone now, I just checked), or do you mean when MNers post that a thread is a zombie thread? Wasn't zombie supposed to be off-putting, as in, putting people off posting on ten year threads?

I think it was the little zombie thing.

As for troll hunting you don't need to do any actual hunting.