Lets say a name isn't taken on Pub side but it's taken on Imp side you still can't use that name on Pub side, I understand Bioware's desire to have unique names but you see too many players with alt codes in their name, showing their dislike of this "unique method" of naming our characters, they are forced to use an alt code as a alternative. Or you could try go by the other method by using the full character name such as "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" problem is in general chat it appears as "John doe" and not "John Doe" call me picky sure, but I like have my toon names first and last names starting with capitals.

It's time to change it up, I'm not sure if the MMO "Pirates of the Burning Sea" is still kicking around, but they had one of the best naming policies in any MMO, one player could be John Smith while another could be John Doe, or you could have a Jane Smith and Jane Doe as long as the names weren't completely identical to another player.

The point is naming your toon is getting harder to do these days, I have been on the verge of renaming toon's but most of the time come empty handed, and for those that says "Well it's just a name" but you need to realize most players value a good name.

for those that says "Well it's just a name" but you need to realize most players value a good name.

From my experience most people who comaplain about names being taken are either:

Too late to have bagged it already

Aren't that original in naming.

I used to keep a friend/ignore list of names so similar it hurt. - When you get to 2 dozen variants of Boba Fett, Vader, Skywalker, Revan, Kylo, etc. You realise that a lot of people can't make a character with a name that they haven't just pinched from the movies.

I used to report, but nothing is ever done. even if its against the ToS - Coz there's no moderation or indeed anyone that cares.

A few years ago, the devs made names available again, that were taken but not used. Characters who didn't log in for a very long time and were still under level 10. Something like this would desireable.

I used to report, but nothing is ever done. even if its against the ToS - Coz there's no moderation or indeed anyone that cares.

Recently, I found a player with a "creative way". He/She/It was one (1) letter short of the German word for "child abuser". I like dark humour. But that line will never crossed by me!

A few years ago, the devs made names available again, that were taken but not used. Characters who didn't log in for a very long time and were still under level 10. Something like this would desireable.

 

 

 

Recently, I found a player with a "creative way". He/She/It was one (1) letter short of the German word for "child abuser". I like dark humour. But that line will never crossed by me!

Well that's the thing, just before the second server merge from Ebon Hawk to Star Forge (yes I remember the first merge when I was originally on Rubat Crystal to Ebon Hawk), the player that had the name I had requested, had remained untouched for the entire time I was on Ebon Hawk, and nothing was done. I even requested for it (since it wasn't being used anymore), but was rejected even though that name had been untouched. By the time I got to Star Forge for the second merge, that name was taken by another player before I was able to claim it.

The merge I believe went by seniority, so whoever played the longest got to keep the name, which is why I had requested it before the merge, but unfortunately got nothing out of it.

I don't know how the naming policy works now but the way it should be is if you are a Sub you get to keep those names, but once you Unsub and remain so for lets say 6 months, you should lose the right to that name.

Well that's the thing, just before the second server merge from Ebon Hawk to Star Forge (yes I remember the first merge when I was originally on Rubat Crystal to Ebon Hawk), the player that had the name I had requested, had remained untouched for the entire time I was on Ebon Hawk, and nothing was done. I even requested for it (since it wasn't being used anymore), but was rejected even though that name had been untouched. By the time I got to Star Forge for the second merge, that name was taken by another player before I was able to claim it.

 

The merge I believe went by seniority, so whoever played the longest got to keep the name, which is why I had requested it before the merge, but unfortunately got nothing out of it.

 

I don't know how the naming policy works now but the way it should be is if you are a Sub you get to keep those names, but once you Unsub and remain so for lets say 6 months, you should lose the right to that name.

If you want a name exclusively and want to future proof it. The best thing has been to always create the same toon and name on each server. That way you have the name locked in. But it does require you logging into them every now and again.

Luckily now, you don’t need to make 20 Alts because there are only 5 servers. Of course, if the name is already taken. You are probably out of luck in ever getting it.

Lets say a name isn't taken on Pub side but it's taken on Imp side you still can't use that name on Pub side, I understand Bioware's desire to have unique names

Apparently, you *don't* understand the desire to have unique names. There *must* be a unique identifier for a character, one that other players can use to send whispers, block enemies in "ignore" lists, create friends, and send mail. In The Secret World, the unique identifier was the "nickname" - a character's name would look something like Melanie "Truckslayer" Robertson. Any other character could be Melanie and/or Robertson, but no other character could be nicknamed "Truckslayer"(1). That is, the nickname ("Truckslayer') was the "true name" of the character, with the first and last names being merely decoration.

In SWTOR, as in most MMORPGs, there is only the character's name. If I was to create Melanie Robertson (I wouldn't, but that's entirely irrelevant here) or Truckslayer, that would be the character's name.

If the name (or TSW-style nickname) isn't a unique identifier, then there would need to be some sort of system-generated identifier for sending messages and so on. (Check out the problems that can be caused by the possibility of duplicate legacy names, for example.)

but you see too many players with alt codes in their name, showing their dislike of this "unique method" of naming our characters, they are forced to use an alt code as a alternative. Or you could try go by the other method by using the full character name such as "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" problem is in general chat it appears as "John doe" and not "John Doe" call me picky sure, but I like have my toon names first and last names starting with capitals.

Don't conflate "there is a presentation bug in chat" with "the system is fundamentally flawed". The John doe thing is a presentation bug, nothing more.

It's time to change it up, I'm not sure if the MMO "Pirates of the Burning Sea" is still kicking around, but they had one of the best naming policies in any MMO, one player could be John Smith while another could be John Doe, or you could have a Jane Smith and Jane Doe as long as the names weren't completely identical to another player.

SWTOR already has that. If I call my character Ykarie Kinslayer, you can call yours Ykarie Kinsaver or Hellborn Kinslayer (that might get blocked for containing "Hell", but that is what would block it). On The Leviathan, I, in fact, have Ykarie and Ykarie Kinslayer *and* Ykarie Kinsaver.

The point is naming your toon is getting harder to do these days, I have been on the verge of renaming toon's but most of the time come empty handed, and for those that says "Well it's just a name" but you need to realize most players value a good name.

No. Naming a new character is not getting harder. Copying the name of something in lore or fiction is hard, but making your own names is not.

(1) It's a reference to someone I knew many, many years ago, in high school. He survived being run over by an eighteen-wheeler in front of the school, but the experience left him with (a) horrible scars all up and down both legs and (b) no fear of wearing shorts in hot weather. On one occasion, when the scars drew some comment, he proclaimed himself to be "Truckslayer"...

Well that's the thing, just before the second server merge from Ebon Hawk to Star Forge (yes I remember the first merge when I was originally on Rubat Crystal to Ebon Hawk), the player that had the name I had requested, had remained untouched for the entire time I was on Ebon Hawk, and nothing was done. I even requested for it (since it wasn't being used anymore), but was rejected even though that name had been untouched. By the time I got to Star Forge for the second merge, that name was taken by another player before I was able to claim it.

 

The merge I believe went by seniority, so whoever played the longest got to keep the name, which is why I had requested it before the merge, but unfortunately got nothing out of it.

 

I don't know how the naming policy works now but the way it should be is if you are a Sub you get to keep those names, but once you Unsub and remain so for lets say 6 months, you should lose the right to that name.

Here's the problem with this philosophy of taking names: So you're monitoring a character name on Server Y, but the owner of said name is actually actively playing on Server X, even they're not using the name on X. In BW's eyes, the account is still active, whether F2P, Premium, or as a sub, despite what you may see looking at that desired name.

Regarding your last line, I have a friend that was in the military, and got deployed for a year, and allowed his sub to lapse. He returned after his deployment, with an active sub. I wonder, if he'd returned to find that someone had pirated his name, if he'd have been inclined to remain? My sub's been known to lapse a time or 10, but somehow I manage find my way back. There's a reason they have a level requirement per tier of subscription: People may burn out and go do other things for a while, and may return. They expect to find that, barring a server merge, they have their accounts in the state they left them in, which is to include names. Whether you find that convenient or not is irrelevant, it's the established policy, and it's a solid one, from where I'm sitting.

Name releases should only occur after a long period of time. 6 months is way too short. Especially when some people only resub during expansions and expansions aren’t even 12 months apart. At the moment they’re 2-3 years apart.

I personally think 2-3 years with no sub or F2P activity on the account should be the base line. If someone hasn’t played for long, then there is a good chance they will never come back. And if they do, too bad for them. They haven’t supported the game with play time or financially supported its development and sustainability.

But if someone stays subbed and doesn’t play the account for 2 years, then they’ve earnt the right to keep those names because they are paying for them. It doesn’t matter wether they have logged in or not. If they are paying, then there is a very good chance they will be back and if they lose those names, they will likely leave permanently and cancel the sub.

A fix would be relaxing some of the naming restrictions and making certain keyboard characters available. Allowing 2 spaces instead of one. Allowing 2 letters for the first part. Allowing full stops... etc.

all of those should be easy changes. I do not know wether they are easy or not. But it would certainly open things up.

Also, there are some really silly restrictions on names. Just as an example, you can’t use the word “Princess” or “Queen” because it’s a title, which is stupid because you can’t ever earn that title in the game. It’s not like Master or General, which you can earn in the game.

What if I’m some Princess from a small planet and get taken to be a Jedi, I’m still a Princess !!

Those are just examples and not necessarily what I want to do. But there are many more absurd restrictions too and contradictions. You can not use Mr or Ms as a title. You often can’t use a common name like John or Mary.

But you can use words similar to hax, hackerz, haxor... etc, which are specifically stipulated to be against the ELO.

The naming policy needs a review and some actual common sense applied to it. There is also too much political correctness applied. I understand there needs to be some limits, but some of it is just insanely over done. So much so that I can’t even post the words here. What offends some doesn’t offend others and I understand that. But political correctness for the sake of it and not because it’s offensive is stupid. Especially when they leave overly offensive options in the game that people need to report and they still aren’t removed.

Even PG and G rated TV programs have more offensive words in them these days than this game. But this is a teen+ game, which means everyone has probably been exposed to much worse in TV, movies and main stream media.

As another example, since when is the word “******” offensive? It’s a body part that everyone has. See I can’t even post it here because a round lump on everyone’s chest might offend people’s sensibilities

TBH I think other people's names should be left alone. There are enough ways to find a good name and creative ways to adapt that I think people should do that instead of upsetting other players.

There are so many reasons someone might not come back for a while. They might have been really sick, or deployed, or had some financial or family crisis, or had a personal issue that has made it impossible to play. To come back to the game after a time and find that their character has had their name stripped would be a kick in the teeth.

Plus, who decides who even gets the name? Someone gives up a name that several other players covet, and you have another conflict about who gets it.

The only exception I could possibly get behind would be taking names from people who have literally never played the characters or never gotten them past Korriban or Tython and they've been sitting for several years.

Im just upset that my juggy lost arctwo and now i have to roll with arctoo instead.

That said, i have a character named sabine wren with funny e's, and i also bumped into the character who has the real name wit no funny letters. So im pretty sure u can have whatever name u want, just need to get creative with alt codes.

There are rules. I'm just too lazy to go look them up but they are something like this. Please note, if you are subbed, under no condition will you lose your name as long as you are subbed with the exception of server merges.

- You must log in without 45 days or 90 days (look it up for the exact time) for characters level 10 or less.

- If you are under level 25 it is 90 or 180 days.

- If you are under 50 its 270 days or so.

- At 50 or more, you will not lose the name. Period. End of story.

The rules are a bit old (think it was about 6 months after launch they were announced), but to my very limited knowledge they haven't changed since.

So TL : DR, if you don't want to lose your name, be level 50 or over (I think) and / or stay subbed.

There are rules. I'm just too lazy to go look them up but they are something like this. Please note, if you are subbed, under no condition will you lose your name as long as you are subbed with the exception of server merges.

 

- You must log in without 45 days or 90 days (look it up for the exact time) for characters level 10 or less.

- If you are under level 25 it is 90 or 180 days.

- If you are under 50 its 270 days or so.

- At 50 or more, you will not lose the name. Period. End of story.

 

The rules are a bit old (think it was about 6 months after launch they were announced), but to my very limited knowledge they haven't changed since.

 

So TL : DR, if you don't want to lose your name, be level 50 or over (I think) and / or stay subbed.

Can you link a source please

There are rules. I'm just too lazy to go look them up but they are something like this. Please note, if you are subbed, under no condition will you lose your name as long as you are subbed with the exception of server merges.

 

- You must log in without 45 days or 90 days (look it up for the exact time) for characters level 10 or less.

- If you are under level 25 it is 90 or 180 days.

- If you are under 50 its 270 days or so.

- At 50 or more, you will not lose the name. Period. End of story.

 

The rules are a bit old (think it was about 6 months after launch they were announced), but to my very limited knowledge they haven't changed since.

 

So TL : DR, if you don't want to lose your name, be level 50 or over (I think) and / or stay subbed.

1. Those are the rules for the first unlock(1)(2).

2. They aren't even the right rules for the first unlock.

3. The second unlock was at the last server merge in 2017. It used different rules.

(1) About 18 months after launch.

(2) It was an *unlock*, not a purge. Whoever claimed the name first got it. If that was the pre-unlock user (by logging in on the character), he got to keep it.

1. Those are the rules for the first unlock(1)(2).

2. They aren't even the right rules for the first unlock.

3. The second unlock was at the last server merge in 2017. It used different rules.

 

(1) About 18 months after launch.

 

(2) It was an *unlock*, not a purge. Whoever claimed the name first got it. If that was the pre-unlock user (by logging in on the character), he got to keep it.

Can confirm. On the last round, I lost a couple of character names, one of which was on a Lvl 50. Since we can use a single space in character names, I added a space and a surname.

Well, as in the real world no one is ever allowed the same name as anyone else, even dead, in case it causes confusion.... ...oh, wait.

The problem here is poorly thought out coding decisions at the get go.

Our toons should have three naming segments <Uniquie ID> <Name> <Legacy Name>

<Name and <Legacy Name> should both be allowed two elements, separated by a space, and upto one hyphen.

Both of these should be displayed in game, with the option Toggle <Legacy Name> on and off as a displayed element, but that is still seen on Mouse-Over.

<Unique ID> should be totally invisible to other players, but automatically recognised by Chat, Mail, Guild Roster etc.

That way there could be, oh I don't know, several hundred John Smiths, just like the real world.

It ain't rocket science, but it does require some degree of Proper Prior Planning.

All The Best

Well, as in the real world no one is ever allowed the same name as anyone else, even dead, in case it causes confusion.... ...oh, wait.

 

The problem here is poorly thought out coding decisions at the get go.

 

 

Our toons should have three naming segments <Uniquie ID> <Name> <Legacy Name>

<Name and <Legacy Name> should both be allowed two elements, separated by a space, and upto one hyphen.

Both of these should be displayed in game, with the option Toggle <Legacy Name> on and off as a displayed element, but that is still seen on Mouse-Over.

 

<Unique ID> should be totally invisible to other players, but automatically recognised by Chat, Mail, Guild Roster etc.

 

That way there could be, oh I don't know, several hundred John Smiths, just like the real world.

 

It ain't rocket science, but it does require some degree of Proper Prior Planning.

 

 

All The Best

Ah yes, the real world: So, how many times has your paycheck gone to someone that has your name, but isn't you?

Our toons should have three naming segments <Uniquie ID> <Name> <Legacy Name>

<Name and <Legacy Name> should both be allowed two elements, separated by a space, and upto one hyphen.

Both of these should be displayed in game, with the option Toggle <Legacy Name> on and off as a displayed element, but that is still seen on Mouse-Over.

 

<Unique ID> should be totally invisible to other players, but automatically recognised by Chat, Mail, Guild Roster etc.

First paragraph: I have several characters whose names would be disallowed by your schema. Please change it to allow more than one hyphen / apostrophe per word, or Yen'reerr'traa would lose her name. (That one fell, unaltered, out of the random generator.)

Second paragraph: Is the unique ID visible or invisible? If it's invisible, then I can't tell what it is, and it's really hard for the game to tell which Yerka Kolar I want to send a message to when I type /w Yerka Kolar: How are you? unless I *can* tell what it is, and type /w 42776587: How are you?. (But if the ID is invisible, how do I tell what it is to type it into the command.

Well that's the thing, just before the second server merge from Ebon Hawk to Star Forge (yes I remember the first merge when I was originally on Rubat Crystal to Ebon Hawk), the player that had the name I had requested, had remained untouched for the entire time I was on Ebon Hawk, and nothing was done. I even requested for it (since it wasn't being used anymore), but was rejected even though that name had been untouched. By the time I got to Star Forge for the second merge, that name was taken by another player before I was able to claim it.

 

The merge I believe went by seniority, so whoever played the longest got to keep the name, which is why I had requested it before the merge, but unfortunately got nothing out of it.

 

I don't know how the naming policy works now but the way it should be is if you are a Sub you get to keep those names, but once you Unsub and remain so for lets say 6 months, you should lose the right to that name.

I was on Rubat Crystal as well. :sul_cool:

I lost a couple names, the worst was my Jedi, because I had nabbed it at launch. It was the name I had used playing KOTOR, so i was hoping to keep it, but once we went to Ebon Hawk, I had to grab another one.