Let’s talk about usernames

Re:Let’s talk about usernames by henrikschroder on Monday February 12, 2018 @02:34AM (#16357146)

Yes, but they're not required, you can't use them to login, and they're not displayed to other users. They're only used to create a nicer URL for the static link to your personal page.

Actual usernames typically do all of the above.

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Re:Let’s talk about usernames by csydas on Monday February 12, 2018 @03:12AM (#16357259)

Well, it adds an air of authenticity when everything lines up right as you just the validity of a page. Let's assume for a moment you were the type to look for support on Facebook for your bank, and you looked wherever for "MyBank Facebook".

First two results are:

facebook.com/mybank

facbeook.com/mm48283df884

Which is the "real one" based just off this information? How do you know that when you message one of them you're getting the actual bank and not a fraudster?

It's not just vanity, people do check these things, not all of them savvy enough to continue researching. Just peek at "safe browsing tips" you'll see from tech rags online and it's pretty clear we do a poor job of educating people about proper vetting online, so you get people instilled with dogmatic understandings of security. ("The URL clearly says Mybank, so it's the real one." "Google actively removes fraudulent websites from the top hit, so it must be the real one", etc)

It sucks, but it is important to try to control for such errors.

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Re:Let’s talk about usernames by bringtheaction on Monday February 12, 2018 @03:39AM (#16357363)

> they're not displayed to other users

They are shown in the address bar of your profile page once set.

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Re:Let’s talk about usernames by gsa on Monday February 12, 2018 @03:26AM (#16357310)

> you can't use them to login

Incorrect, I can use my username in the email field and log in.

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