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If I change my nickname, can I later change it back to the old one?


Waldlaterne

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Hi,

 

I'm currently on my 3rd nickname... don't ask, I get bored with them after a while ;-)

 

I'm geocaching in Germany, my current nick translates to "forest light" or "forest lantern".

 

Question: if I change my nickname now, and at some point later want to change it back to "Waldlaterne", will that be possible or will that nick be blocked for future use even by myself?

 

Thanks for any input!

Edited by Waldlaterne
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Hi,

 

I'm currently on my 3rd nickname... don't ask, I get bored with them after a while ;-)

 

I'm geocaching in Germany, my current nick translates to "forest light" or "forest lantern".

 

Question: if I change my nickname now, and at some point later want to change it back to "Waldlaterne", will that be possible or will that nick be blocked for future use even by myself?

 

Thanks for any input!

 

At the moment, yes, you can change your user name.

 

But Groundspeak have, in the past, locked/stopped users from making those changes.

Nothing to say they wont lock/stop name changes in the future...

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Hi,

 

I'm currently on my 3rd nickname... don't ask, I get bored with them after a while ;-)

 

I'm geocaching in Germany, my current nick translates to "forest light" or "forest lantern".

 

Question: if I change my nickname now, and at some point later want to change it back to "Waldlaterne", will that be possible or will that nick be blocked for future use even by myself?

 

Thanks for any input!

 

If someone else takes that username in the meantime, then you would not be able to change it back.

 

Help Center → My Account → My Account and Profile

2.15. Username Change

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=115

 

B.

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You've already changed your nickname twice, so you're probably already aware of this. But you should consider the "Geocacher formerly known as Waldlaterne" issue. If others in your local geocaching community know you as Waldlaterne, then there can be confusion when they encounter your new name.

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If someone else takes that username in the meantime, then you would not be able to change it back.

 

Can this work?

 

1) Create new account with name "C"

2) Rename current account "A" to "B" (grab it yourself, so that no one else can grab it)

3) Rename new account "C" to "A"

 

some time later

 

4) Rename new account "A" to whatever

5) Rename current account "B" to "A"

 

I'm not sure if it is explicitly against the TOU to create an account for this purpose though.

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From the link provided by Pup Patrol:

 

If a username already exists and has ever been validated, or the username has been used in any way, then the username is not available.

 

Therefore the idea hinted at by Chrysalides wouldn't work; since "Waldlaterne" has been used, then it's not available.

 

Spinning the idea further I'm worried if I go from Waldlaterne to ABC, then I won't be able to change back because, see above, Waldlaterne has been used (yes, by me, but does the Software check that??)

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From the link provided by Pup Patrol:

 

If a username already exists and has ever been validated, or the username has been used in any way, then the username is not available.

 

Therefore the idea hinted at by Chrysalides wouldn't work; since "Waldlaterne" has been used, then it's not available.

 

Spinning the idea further I'm worried if I go from Waldlaterne to ABC, then I won't be able to change back because, see above, Waldlaterne has been used (yes, by me, but does the Software check that??)

 

If you change your username to ABC, then want to change it back to Waldlaterne, the system will tell you that username is in use.

 

From what I've seen, once a username is created, whether it's used or not, it is no longer available. Groundspeak does not delete accounts, so usernames are not opened up for other people to use.

 

 

B.

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From the link provided by Pup Patrol:

 

If a username already exists and has ever been validated, or the username has been used in any way, then the username is not available.

 

Therefore the idea hinted at by Chrysalides wouldn't work; since "Waldlaterne" has been used, then it's not available.

I changed the name of an account from A to B, then from B back to A. Both changes are successful. Try it - you changed your username before, rename your son's account to one of those.

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If you change your username to ABC, then want to change it back to Waldlaterne, the system will tell you that username is in use.

 

Not true from my experiment 5 minutes ago.

 

From what I've seen, once a username is created, whether it's used or not, it is no longer available. Groundspeak does not delete accounts, so usernames are not opened up for other people to use.

 

If it is in use. If you rename "Pup Patrol" to "Big Dog Patrol", for example, "Pup Patrol" is no longer in use. Groundspeak does not appear to keep track of previously used names, only currently used ones.

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If you change your username to ABC, then want to change it back to Waldlaterne, the system will tell you that username is in use.

 

Not true from my experiment 5 minutes ago.

 

From what I've seen, once a username is created, whether it's used or not, it is no longer available. Groundspeak does not delete accounts, so usernames are not opened up for other people to use.

 

If it is in use. If you rename "Pup Patrol" to "Big Dog Patrol", for example, "Pup Patrol" is no longer in use. Groundspeak does not appear to keep track of previously used names, only currently used ones.

 

This agrees with what I just tried. I had changed my name a while ago, and now I put my old name into "Find a User" and it was not found.

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This agrees with what I just tried. I had changed my name a while ago, and now I put my old name into "Find a User" and it was not found.

 

You can check to see if it is available to be changed to, by going to the change user name page. Type in the name, and it will tell you if it is available or not. You don't have to actually change it.

 

I noticed that there are some names I couldn't change to, but they don't show up when I try to search for them. They may be accounts that are not validated. For example, I couldn't get account "pup". You can see the account by doing this.

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