To ask users with a name like user123456788 to name change?

[MajesticWhine]

Hate these usernames. I don't know why they started and they are not conducive to communicating with others online. You can't recognise the person easily if they post on different threads. You can't form an impression of the identity of the poster. It's just rubbish. Please can we stop it?

[AStickInTime]

I was never assigned user124456789 but I can't remember how it used to work in the good old days when people joined?

[kali110]

If someone wants to keep their user1212 then that's up to them!
Fgs anyone could be a goady fucker!

[kali110]

and i never have trouble keeping up with who is who, i simply use copy and paste

[BertieBotts]

People don't necessarily namecheck on threads because it's not always necessary to do so. But sometimes it's unclear which poster an answer is directed towards so it's useful to be able to identify in that case.

Honestly though, and I realise this is shallow and wholely subjective, I think having many similar names with numbers involved just looks uglier than names which are formed from words. There even used to be an unofficial rule of no numbers tacked on the end of names, perhaps for this reason.

[AfunaMbatata]

I just ignore them, cannot be bothered to keep scrolling back to check the last 3 numbers of posters on a thread. Gives me a headache.

[Laiste]

Now i think about it, I scan read and tend to skim over the user name posts as well. Hard to explain why - I don't intend to, they just don't seem to register so my mind filters them out.

Giving this thought - if it's a thread which interests me (and why would you follow a thread if it doesn't?) i like to see who's posting what and i do keep a subconscious note of names. It's nice to see familiar names, and even if they're unfamiliar keep up with who's arguing with talking to who within the thread.

The annoying habit of posting without RTFT is on the increase, maybe these instantly forgettable names are part of the same thing - meaningless posts are symptomatic of meaningless names and a meaningless identity?

[user1471506380]

I would like to have a username of my choice but despite trying a few times have not been able to change!

[Iggi999]

There even used to be an unofficial rule of no numbers tacked on the end of names, perhaps for this reason
Oops

[user1471545174]

With great joy, my first

I've had three proper MN usernames that just fell over and locked me out for no reason.

Number with the 5s, 7s and 4s has never let me down.

Plus it keeps my former goaders at bay, which is fine by me.

YABU.