It's a convention that gives the audience a frame of reference, which actually makes suspension of disbelief easier.

 

Thank you for making this statement.

 

My character names are borderline for SW Lore. I try not to use names that violate the naming guidelines, but, what I usually do use are existing names from RL that are researchable.

 

Why? Because I want a mental impression of how I should play my character, and having a name that already has a reputation helps me with that - a frame of reference.

 

For example, on one server, I have the Jinxed legacy, and with the exception of one name, all my characters there are named after people who were jinxed, cursed, or otherwise had really bad things happen to them. These names are from history or mythology. (I really wish I had gotten Cassandra and Pandora, as they are pretty obvious fits, but I think I made a good substitution with Bodicea, but not too many would recognize Euryale, even though I think it's a good match for a twi'lek. )

 

Strict name rule people would hate my names, but, despite being on an RP server, somehow I haven't come across any of them. I've only had one comment so far, and it was a comment in general chat relating to the Romans, while I was on Bodicea.

 

My opinion?

 

Report insults. The rest can be overlooked. If that's really the way that person wants to be known, let them be known that way. After all, we have, in real life, people who were given the names of Doctor, Moonunit, Orangejello (Or-awn-ja-lo), and Justin Thyme at birth. Why not have them in game?

 

~ Cerilynn

 

Edit: While discussing this with my hubby about comments earlier in thread on using one's nickname as a name, I was reminded of a friend of ours. In real life, she legally changed her name to her nickname, because that was how people knew her. She is now legally Shadowhawk. That's what gets put on her IRS forms, resume, and bank statement. Why is this not acceptable here?

Edited March 19, 2012 by Cerilynn

ok, so I am kind of new to MMO's and rp in general, so I ask for an opinion here, would you guys say that Meanken is a bad name? It is for my agent char, basicly a codename, and I have good reasons for the name in my backstory for him

 

Hmm. Frankly, I'd consider it a bit "iffy," to be honest. I usually avoid contact with players whose names make my eyes roll. Names like that tend to say "TRYING TOO HARD!" to me.

 

Your mileage may vary, just my opinion, other disclaimers as required, etc.

The 50 million Bubba Fatt bounty hunters will be displeased if this one ever gets enforced.

The 50 million Bubba Fatt bounty hunters will be displeased if this one ever gets enforced.

 

(Ironically there's only 2 million people playing this game. )

ok, so I am kind of new to MMO's and rp in general, so I ask for an opinion here, would you guys say that Meanken is a bad name? It is for my agent char, basicly a codename, and I have good reasons for the name in my backstory for him

 

 

Okay, so there are a lot of "things" going on here.

 

Some names are just completely inappropriate for this game (RonaldMcDonald, LushRimbaugh, HamSalad, BeiberFett, FobaBett, BubbaFett and every other variation on the bounty hunter's name).

 

I think that while these names don't violate the ToS, they're not really RP-appropriate. I don't like them. My guild doesn't tolerate them.

 

Some names don't *look* RP appropriate, and then you find out they are. For instance, there's a guy named "ToothFairy" on my server, and his mere existence was irritating. Seriously, why would any rational person name their character that?!? Are they just trying to make me mad?

 

A friend pointed out that perhaps it was his callsign or nick name. Maybe this guy punched so many people in the face and knocked their teeth out that his buddies started calling him the "Tooth Fairy".

 

"Goose", "Maverick", "Mr. T", "Dirty Harry" "Chipper (Jones)", "Billy the Kid" "Refridgerator (Perry)", "Bones", "Doc", "Gearbox" and "Starbuck" are all famous callsigns or nicknames - far more famous than the character's (or pilot's, or player's) original names.

 

So... I try to at least put on my "callsign filter" before I get too mad.

 

Sounds like "Meanken" is a sort of nickname or callsign. Right?

 

Paige

Some names are just completely inappropriate for this game (RonaldMcDonald Copyrighted name, violates ToS, LushRimbaugh Referencing a Political Figure, violates ToS, HamSalad Nothing against ToS, BeiberFett References both a copyrighted name and a celebrity, violates ToS twice., FobaBett References a copyrighted name, violates ToS., BubbaFett References a copyrighted name, violates ToS.and every other variation on the bounty hunter's name).

 

I think that while these names don't violate the ToS, they're not really RP-appropriate. I don't like them. My guild doesn't tolerate them.

 

Actually, a lot of those names you had as examples are indeed ToS-violators, but I get what you are saying. It's like I keep saying, be open-minded to the possibilites. Maybe someone named "Butterfly" may have a totally legit backstory to having such a frilly nickname, heck, they might not like the nickname IC.

This entire concept seems a bit elitist and just plain silly to me. Honestly I am very very surprised how few direct Star Wars rip off names I have seen so far but I do see plenty of just plain silly names. I do play on a RP server and I've seen some odd ones. Just because they aren't normal doesn't mean they're wrong and should be banned from the RP servers, they just RP a different style than you. As far as using names from other sources how do you really determine what names should be allowed and what names shouldn't. For example you may have noticed I use a lot of names out of Norse mythology, should I be not allowed to? Also for those of you who are concerned have any of you actually done any RPing with these people? I see a lot of there is a guy named, or I saw some one with the name and things like that. Not everyone on the server is gonna be what you want and you just need to deal with it. I have a friend on my server who is not a Star Wars fan, has no back story and doesn't RP. He only joined the server because he had a lot of friends and guildmates from other games who were on the server. Should we kick him off because he doesn't RP? Why bother, its not hurting you. Let people play the game the way they want to play it and stop worrying about what they choose to name their character.

I don't think the names out of Norse mythology are the problem.

 

It's people like BobhaFett, DarthPancakes, and GoBigBlue that are not getting with the program.

I don't think the names out of Norse mythology are the problem.

 

It's people like BobhaFett, DarthPancakes, and GoBigBlue that are not getting with the program.

 

Can you explain to me how any of these names affect you at all? You claim seeing these name ruins the experience and destroys the illusion blah blah blah but doesn't having everyones name floating about their head alone kinda do that? Let others play how they want to play and you go play how you want to play.

Can you explain to me how any of these names affect you at all? You claim seeing these name ruins the experience and destroys the illusion blah blah blah but doesn't having everyones name floating about their head alone kinda do that? Let others play how they want to play and you go play how you want to play.

 

Really egregiously non-Star-Warsy names are chosen intentionally. Someone had to sit at their computer and go through the effort to come up with and type out a name. So these folks are deliberately choosing to break the suspension of disbelief. They have gone through all the trouble to pick a RP server, and then deliberately chosen to fundamentally break the suspension of disbelief for themselves and the people who may choose to interact with them even before they ever do anything in the game.

 

It's sort of like waving a sign that says "screw you RP people - I am breaking your suspension of disbelief! Neener neener! Lookit me!" It is really a mild kind of griefing.

 

I can filter out a layer of names. That doesn't harm my suspension of disbelief any more than the UI does. The UI just gets filtered out also.

 

Does it change the way I play solo? Not at all. I just ignore those folks. However, by deliberately choosing a ridiculous name on an RP server, these folks have demonstrated a lack of judgement (or a lack of civility, or a lack of understanding). It says something about the player behind the character. So I won't group with them, buy goods from them, or interact with them in any way. I definitely won't chat with them in character, because they've already indicated that they don't like RP or don't get RP.

 

We're all judged by our usernames in the electronic age. It's like the guy who showed up for the job interview at the pricey engineering firm with the email address "sexpig69@..." No job for you - that's bad judgement right there. I actually played a mmo a while back and there were two usernames that really made me angry (one was sexual and the other was ***Killa where *** = a religious group). What has to go wrong in someone's life where they want to be known with a horrible usernames? These guys were utter pariahs. No one would give them the time of day, and it was 100% because of their usernames. They each made a conscious decision that those usernames were a good idea. It really says something about the person behind the name.

 

The Terms of Service would prevent those two idiots from showing up in Star Wars, but a username of DarthPancakes is really in the same group. The person behind the name is trolling the RP community and is doing so in a way we can do nothing about.

 

Paige

Really egregiously non-Star-Warsy names are chosen intentionally. Someone had to sit at their computer and go through the effort to come up with and type out a name. So these folks are deliberately choosing to break the suspension of disbelief. They have gone through all the trouble to pick a RP server, and then deliberately chosen to fundamentally break the suspension of disbelief for themselves and the people who may choose to interact with them even before they ever do anything in the game.

 

It's sort of like waving a sign that says "screw you RP people - I am breaking your suspension of disbelief! Neener neener! Lookit me!" It is really a mild kind of griefing.

 

I can filter out a layer of names. That doesn't harm my suspension of disbelief any more than the UI does. The UI just gets filtered out also.

 

Does it change the way I play solo? Not at all. I just ignore those folks. However, by deliberately choosing a ridiculous name on an RP server, these folks have demonstrated a lack of judgement (or a lack of civility, or a lack of understanding). It says something about the player behind the character. So I won't group with them, buy goods from them, or interact with them in any way. I definitely won't chat with them in character, because they've already indicated that they don't like RP or don't get RP.

 

We're all judged by our usernames in the electronic age. It's like the guy who showed up for the job interview at the pricey engineering firm with the email address "sexpig69@..." No job for you - that's bad judgement right there. I actually played a mmo a while back and there were two usernames that really made me angry (one was sexual and the other was ***Killa where *** = a religious group). What has to go wrong in someone's life where they want to be known with a horrible usernames? These guys were utter pariahs. No one would give them the time of day, and it was 100% because of their usernames. They each made a conscious decision that those usernames were a good idea. It really says something about the person behind the name.

 

The Terms of Service would prevent those two idiots from showing up in Star Wars, but a username of DarthPancakes is really in the same group. The person behind the name is trolling the RP community and is doing so in a way we can do nothing about.

 

Paige

 

Ok your big problem there is that you are assuming a lot about the person and why they chose the name. I mean how do you know that Fuzzywabbit chose the name intentionally to annoy you and not because he has used the name in games for years and it is what all of his friends online know him as. Yes there is a Fuzzywabbit on my server and despite being an Imp and kicking me around in PvP fairly often he is a pretty cool guy. Names that will clearly annoy people like your example of ***KILLA do not belong in any game and are against the ToS and not allowed on any server. So many of the names you mentioned while they may be silly do not mean that the person hates RP and will ruin anything you try to do. Honestly my only problem with DarthPancakes is there is a Darth title in the game. I actually knew a Darth Pancakes on some forums many years ago, and he had a complete character design. Just because you have a problem with someone RPing a Sith as silly instead of mean doesn't mean they aren't having a lot o fun with it. Just because someone doesn't do things your way doesn't mean they are wrong and should be kicked out and honestly I'm glad that Bioware hasn't gone all crazy name nazi on the PvP severs or I personally would probably wouldn't be playing for long.

Really egregiously non-Star-Warsy names are chosen intentionally. Someone had to sit at their computer and go through the effort to come up with and type out a name. So these folks are deliberately choosing to break the suspension of disbelief. They have gone through all the trouble to pick a RP server, and then deliberately chosen to fundamentally break the suspension of disbelief for themselves and the people who may choose to interact with them even before they ever do anything in the game.

 

There is quite a difference between choosing to perform an act and doing so deliberately to create harm. If I bump into someone, chances are it is an accident. The mere fact of my making a conscious decision to walk in a particular direction does not suddenly turn the offending contact into a deliberate attack.

 

Yes, RP griefers exist, and some of them create characters with "non-Star Warsy" names just to annoy others. This does not mean that all names which do not pass a particular RPer's immersion filter were chosen deliberately to grief the RP community.

 

Some players might be new to RP, and may not have a clear idea of what might constitute an "immersive" Star Wars name. Some might disagree on where exactly that boundary is, as it appears in (often radically) different places for different RPers - note the ongoing controversy over whether or not nicknames are acceptable. Other players might merely have mistyped during character creation, or have forgotten that they were on an RP server. Careless, certainly, but nevertheless accidental.

 

I prefer to judge names on an individual basis. I do report names that violate the current naming policies set by BioWare (IP infringements, slurs, profanity, et cetera). Anything else, I'm willing to tolerate peaceably unless the owner proves him/herself a complete tool through inappropriate actions or speech. Harassing or other EULA-breaking behavior gets reported. Anyone who breaks my immersion too much or is merely too irritating for me to stand, I simply won't interact with.

Anyone who breaks my immersion too much or is merely too irritating for me to stand, I simply won't interact with.

 

Agreed. That's how I roll. I don't like stupid "DarthPancakes" type names, at all, but it's a free server and people can make their own decisions about their usernames. I'm, of course, free to interpret usernames as I see best, and ignore liberally.

 

Paige

Actually, a lot of those names you had as examples are indeed ToS-violators, but I get what you are saying. It's like I keep saying, be open-minded to the possibilites. Maybe someone named "Butterfly" may have a totally legit backstory to having such a frilly nickname, heck, they might not like the nickname IC.

 

My agent's name is Spec'ter. As in a visible ghost or spirit. He lacks stealth since he's a sniper. "Specter" could also be short/slang for "inspector" (phonetics vs. spelling considerations aside), which is what my agent does (inspects and investigates), a double meaning and seems quite appropriate as a call sign/name. Agents lie all the time to get things done so chances are he would never, ever be known to anyone by his real name. In fact, the only ties he has to his real name are through his legacy/extended family.

 

All this and he's on a PvE server.