Someone has taken my username.

[paxillin]

Well, not quite. They are paxilllin (three L) and I am paxillin (two L). I get confused enough as it is without seeing myself double. Are there any rules about that?

No philodox, even my parents wouldn't do that to me! No offence... I do know a wilomena...

paxillin - I would take it as a compliment that someone is passing themselves off as you (well, actually, I would be annoyed)!

It is surprising though as to how many user names have been taken. When I registered, about my 1st 7 name choices were taken. Eventually I gave up and changed my 7th choice of Ariadne to Aridane. I do now wonder though if I have been passing myself off as a real poster called Aridane

< off now to do an AS >

Ah - just seen that the real Ariadne posted once in 2006

We've actually no evidence of foul play, tbh pax - though we do appreciate it's an odd coincidence and must feel a wee bit disconcerting!

Pax - when I AS your namesake with 3 llls, I don't get any hits. Does that mean when all of someone's posts are deleted they don't show up anymore when you AS? (Was curious as to what sort of things the Pax impostor was posting)

Yes, if all posts by someone are deleted, they no longer appear on AS. I think that is a good thing, it will protect posters who asked to have their posts deleted.

I imagine having a spell of those must be a bit confusing. You'd no longer trust anybody, who knows how many L someone has and if they used a capital A or not.

(I think Aridane and Ariadne is no problem at all, can't see her coming back after 12 years ).

Of course, I couldn't AS until registered so wouldn't have known how prolific or otherwise Aridane was. However, yes, one thread only and 12 years ago, I don't expect to see her reporting me for doing a Paxilllin.

I remember my old username got spoofed

I was NeedACleverNN. Came one day to find a thread about Ben Stiller under the name NeedAC1everNN but on the site the 1 looked like an L. I was baffled as I knew I hadn't posted that post.

I ended up getting suspended whilst they sorted it all out luckily I was clean

(now getting my Aridane's and Aridane's muddled up!)

It's so so hard picking a username! I wish MN would clear out unused ones every now and again- it must be taking up heaps of space on a database somewhere...

Push, IIRC MNHQ had a NN amnesty some years ago - where old and unused ones could be 'sold off' to others. I can't remember what happened now so I don't know whether it finally came off, or not. But some people who've been here for years and have long memories might well have fought against someone else taking a previous MNers NN?

The Mumsnet name auction was in 2007, when names that had never been posted with, or not for a very long time (not sure how long) were auctioned in aid of the Mile for Maude campaign (raising money for FSID in memory of a Mumsnetter’s DD)

I paid £15 for Rusty, mainly because I didn’t want anyone else using it!

An auction??!!!!!

See, bet you'd have bought Ariadne if allowed!

I remember seeing another Sauvignon being told off, deservedly, and I felt guilty even though it wasn't me.

This was how the auction worked (though the link to the list of names doesn’t work anymore)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_nickname_auction/314510-the-mumsnet-nickname-auction-for-a-mile-for-maude

I've had this too, I noticed it at the weekend (reported but haven't heard back). Practically the same except clown instead of clowns and all lower case .

Hi, CantSleep,

We've just dropped you another mail, just to let you know. We replied to your report earlier this week but maybe has dropped into spam or is on an old email address or something? Anyway - just wanted to alert you to the emails.

Generally speaking though, if you find someone has picked a very similar name to yours we'd say it's worth reporting to us in the first instance, just so we can have a look behind the scenes and check that the namechange is just a coincidence and not someone trying to cause trouble or be goady somehow.

If that's not the case we usually advise folk to drop their name twin a line via PM and just ask politely if they wouldn't mind changing to save confusion. That's usually got a positive response, so worth a go, but do report to us first so we can check the situation out for you.

I had a name I iept for a specific topic, and someone on a Local used it (one post, just one post) and that was it. My alt-name was gone forever. I reported it and they could do nothing!

What I couldn't understand was how come I use that name for months and months on the main boards, and she takes it on the Local Board (not my local board either) and I can never use it again on any board anywher.

She's still only used it once and I still can't have it.

...a name I kept for a specific ....

Jux that is bizarre. How v odd and strange.

(That would be a fab user name eh. OddAndStrange. Or maybe Dickens characters, a lawyer firm)

Ahem. I digress. Pax I hope your impersonator stays deregged.

Go for it, Flibberty, you'll wish you had...