Before I make another toon or rename them I always double check to see it's availability by adding that name to my friends list, if it says it's does not exist I go ahead and rename my toon, but for some reason even after checking on both sides, I go on to buy character rename and tried to rename one of my toons it goes on and says "name unavailable" I mean really? it's nothing inappropriate or offensive, but this seems to be a on going occurrence, this is one of my #1 pet peeves about this game is that the name policy has to be unique, making it harder for players to pick names. Sure I could do the good old "Jolly Roger" as the full in-game name for example, but it looks dumb in gen chat as it appears as "Jolly roger" that issue has not been fixed by bioware yet.

agree.

Can we *please* start distinguishing between "purges" and "unlocks"?

 

They have done two rounds of unlock, and one tiny purge.

 

Why is the disctinction important?

 

A "purge" (or at least the name sounds like it) will actually remove the names from affected characters. An "unlock" does what it says, and makes the name available for use without, at that moment, taking it away. If another character tries to use the name, that works, but if the character it was (and still is) on logs in before that happens, the name is kept and relocked. (Sorry for the circumlocutions, but I'm trying hard to avoid anything that implies ownership.)

 

A purge is a much more violent thing to do to people's characters - it guarantees that the name is lost, while an unlock offers the possibility of an absent player keeping the name if (for whatever reason) nobody else grabs it.

 

Back in 2013, they did an unlock (but one that didn't touch subscriber account character names), and they did another just before the server merges in the back end of 2017. At that time they *also* really purged names from long-idle characters below level 10 on F2P (and possibly Preferred, don't remember) accounts.

 

That said,

Before I make another toon or rename them I always double check to see it's availability by adding that name to my friends list, if it says it's does not exist I go ahead and rename my toon, but for some reason even after checking on both sides, I go on to buy character rename and tried to rename one of my toons it goes on and says "name unavailable"

Unlucky if it happens once. If it happens a lot, I'd speculate that it's caused by an oddity of banned accounts. (I don't know if this is the case, mind you, but it seems likely.)

 

DISCLAIMER: Speculation. I have no special inside knowledge.

 

The oddity goes like this: the name is used in the past by a player who does *something* (really doesn't matter what, could be PvP cheating, exploiting exploits, got hacked and banned for goldseller spamming, etc.) that gets the account permanently banned, and the ban survives the appeal process. To prevent e.g. PvP cheaters from just creating the character again with the same name on a new account (tied to a different email address), the account remains in-game, and is presumably immune to having its character names unlocked. The names, fairly obviously, remain "unavailable", but cannot be found by e.g. the mail system, the friend system, the ignore system, and so on.

 

As I said, it's speculation, but it's approximately how I'd design it(1), except that I would probably have had it claim that banned-account names are "Invalid" or "Blocked" rather than "Unavailable".

I mean really? it's nothing inappropriate or offensive,

If it was something on the automated censor's list, you'd see "Invalid" rather than "unavailable". You'd be surprised at some of the things that are on that list, because not all of them are "rude words":

* Common short words like "the". Havelock The'dane was invalid, but Havelock Thedane was not.

* Some ordinary Earthly personal names. Floppy Alice was invalid, but Floppy Alyce was not.

* Some other apparently ordinary words. Someone said that Phoenix is invalid, probably because of the character from the X-Men.

but this seems to be a on going occurrence, this is one of my #1 pet peeves about this game is that the name policy has to be unique,

A unique character identifier is a feature of all MMORPGs. There *has* to be a unique player-accessible identifier (UPAI) for every character in the "namespace" (usually a server, but for some games, e.g. the two Guild Warses, it's the whole game), and:

* In WoW or SWTOR or Runes of Magic or Dofus or Allods Online or ESO or GW1 or GW2, it's your character's name. (i.e. SWTOR is far from unique in using the character's name as the UPAI.)

* In FF14 it's your first name (space) your second name.

* In The Secret World and Secret World Legends, it's your nickname. Your first and last name are not constrained to be unique, and neither is the combination. In theory, all characters on the server could be Melanie Roberts, but only mine can be Melanie "Truckslayer" Roberts.

* In STO it is ... complicated, but the overall concept of a UPAI is still there. It includes a concept similar to the Secred World games of a *name* separate from the unique identifier.

 

-0.5 // Shading between indifference and mild opposition. There are better things for them to spend their time on.

 

(1) I'm a developer by profession, for over thirty years. Making this kind of analysis of software systems is an occupational hazard.

So before I decide I'm coming back to play for a while, and pay my little sub, I check my characters. No names, no sub.

 

"But you were gone, you don't deserve to keep it" is countered with "I came up with it, if you can't be creative about naming a toon, perhaps you really don't need that alt". Some of our players are in the military, and may be deployed for x amount of time. They, through no fault of their own, won't be able to play for that period, generally a year, and so should be deprived of their names because you're mad that names need to be unique?

 

On that, I don't want people looking at my Jugg sideways because another Jugg with my name sucked at playing their class, or was a total (edited for television) in a group. There's a distinct possibility that a name may be unavailable because it's associated with a copyright, which means it can't be used. Sorry, Darth Marr Jr., that's the way legal stuff works.

I created a new character last week, every name from the random name generator was in use.

If you want to name a character using a name that means something whatever language you picks its in use.

I created a new character last week, every name from the random name generator was in use.

If you want to name a character using a name that means something whatever language you picks its in use.

 

Every one? That's a lot of combinations, I'm thinking you'd still be checking if that were the case, in either of your examples.

OMG! Not this again. We just had a long drawn out thread about this.

 

No, you can't have your "special" name. It's been taken. Get over it. 😂

OMG! Not this again. We just had a long drawn out thread about this.

 

No, you can't have your "special" name. It's been taken. Get over it. 😂

 

And seemingly you still fail to understand that someone might be attached to a particular name.

 

I fully support the idea of a name purge. From what I have seen in the previous thread on this topic, there are multiple players who support the notion of a name purge as well, because they lost a character name they were attached to or fond of.

I named a new character yesterday

With the second name option it is really easy to do and the fact that there isn't a capital on the second name in chat, who cares, its chat.

And seemingly you still fail to understand that someone might be attached to a particular name.

 

I fully support the idea of a name purge. From what I have seen in the previous thread on this topic, there are multiple players who support the notion of a name purge as well, because they lost a character name they were attached to or fond of.

 

Irony? Because someone that chose the name someone else is "attached" to may also be "attached" to it.

Irony? Because someone that chose the name someone else is "attached" to may also be "attached" to it.

 

No, not when the character name is on an account that the owner no longer bothers with. I am not supporting a name purge of reckless abandon, I am supporting a rational and considerate name purge.

 

Because don't tell me that someone who hasn't logged in for years into the game and doesn't plan to log in for the next couple of years to come, is concerned what happens to their character names. And if they are concerned, well then, then they should come online and play those characters.

No, not when the character name is on an account that the owner no longer bothers with. I am not supporting a name purge of reckless abandon, I am supporting a rational and considerate name purge.

 

Because don't tell me that someone who hasn't logged in for years into the game and doesn't plan to log in for the next couple of years to come, is concerned what happens to their character names. And if they are concerned, well then, then they should come online and play those characters.

 

Are they not logging in, or are they not logging in on that character? Are they playing on another server? I have toons on a couple of servers. If someone's "stalking" one of my names, and I'm not on that server, they're going to think I've abandoned it. Then, as has happened in these previously, when the name isn't released, the criteria will change, and then it'll change again, at least, in so far as what's asked for in getting names.

Are they not logging in, or are they not logging in on that character? Are they playing on another server? I have toons on a couple of servers. If someone's "stalking" one of my names, and I'm not on that server, they're going to think I've abandoned it. Then, as has happened in these previously, when the name isn't released, the criteria will change, and then it'll change again, at least, in so far as what's asked for in getting names.

 

Your attempt to paint me in a bad light isn't going to work. I explained numerous times in the other thread about this subject what my position is on name purges. I explicitly stated that I am talking about inactive F2P accounts and that I believe the name purges will occur fairest when Bioware applies the rules that it has applied in the past when performing name purges or performs it according rules they deem fair to all.

 

I'm not talking about name purging subs or active accounts. I explained my position numerous times when it was discussed in the thread which I had started on this topic. If I get the name back that I was attached to, great! But if the name won't be freed up during the purge, too bad, I'll move on. But I will know then that I have at least put in the effort to get it back. And besides, by supporting the idea of a name purge, I may not get my own name back but others who lost their names might reacquire theirs. That's more than satisfactory to me, to know that my support for something helped someone else get something back that they wanted.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Ylliarus

Your attempt to paint me in a bad light isn't going to work. I explained numerous times in the other thread about this subject what my position is on name purges. I explicitly stated that I am talking about inactive F2P accounts and that I believe the name purges will occur fairest when Bioware applies the rules that it has applied in the past when performing name purges or performs it according rules they deem fair to all.

 

I'm not talking about name purging subs or active accounts. I explained my position numerous times when it was discussed in the thread which I had started on this topic. If I get the name back that I was attached to, great! But if the name won't be freed up during the purge, too bad, I'll move on. But I will know then that I have at least put in the effort to get it back. And besides, by supporting the idea of a name purge, I may not get my own name back but others who lost their names might reacquire theirs. That's more than satisfactory to me, to know that my support for something helped someone else get something back that they wanted.

 

Who said anything about you? You're discussing one other thread, I've seen about 10 of them, here, then there's the countless other threads exactly like it scattered across the other MMOs I play. The problem I see, as always, is that there have been purges, and yet, that name someone is attached to still isn't released, and it's suddenly time for another one, demonstrating exactly what I was talking about, that you feel paints you in a bad light? This is, of course, assuming that the name isn't on the "this name is protected by copyright and cannot be used" list.

And seemingly you still fail to understand that someone might be attached to a particular name.

And you seemingly still fail to understand that you need to man-up and get over it. 😂

Your attempt to paint me in a bad light isn't going to work. I explained numerous times in the other thread about this subject what my position is on name purges. I explicitly stated that I am talking about inactive F2P accounts and that I believe the name purges will occur fairest when Bioware applies the rules that it has applied in the past when performing name purges or performs it according rules they deem fair to all.

 

I'm not talking about name purging subs or active accounts. I explained my position numerous times when it was discussed in the thread which I had started on this topic. If I get the name back that I was attached to, great! But if the name won't be freed up during the purge, too bad, I'll move on. But I will know then that I have at least put in the effort to get it back. And besides, by supporting the idea of a name purge, I may not get my own name back but others who lost their names might reacquire theirs. That's more than satisfactory to me, to know that my support for something helped someone else get something back that they wanted.

 

^Yes, there are a ton of dead accounts, like players who left in 2.0 or 3.0, so forth, who have nice names that have been "collecting dust" (more like piling) for several years. I've no problem with name purging such accounts, where return to gameplay is highly unlikely. Those who haven't played in a year or more, sure, I'm fine with that: put their accounts up for review. Many within a year of gameplay take breaks from this game, that's pretty common - so they get a pass. I have to agree though, no sense in good names sitting on long dead/ long~ inactive accounts. I was very fortunate, kept all my names throughout the years. Have to say, would be nice to see better names (meaing, not overloaded w special characters) running around than the ones I've been seeing the past couple years.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Willjb

No....

 

No one should loose their name because of your lack of imagination. If you can't use the name you want then come up with a different one.

 

Name purges should NEVER be done except to deleted characters and that is already done when the character is deleted. Whether the account is dormant or active makes no difference. A dormant subscription may be reactivated at any time. How would you like it if you came back after being away for what ever reason and find the your characters names are gone because somebody else wanted them. I bet you would scream bloody murder if it happened to you.

 

Use your imagination and come up with a different name for your character it's not that hard (well for me its not).

Use your imagination and come up with a different name for your character it's not that hard (well for me its not).

 

Then I would advice you to practice what you preach and use your imagination as to why people might want a specific name back that they lost to another account.

 

A lack of imagination is not my problem. I can come up with a list of names right on the spot, here and now if you'd ask me to. However, the issue here is being attached to a specific name. In my case, it's a situation where someone took my name as a cruel joke. And no, don't presume to tell me that it's unlikely, because I know the details of the situation and you don't.

 

Use your imagination and try to put yourself in for example my shoes: a name that meant a lot to you over years of playing SWTOR is spitefully taken away because you moved the character with that name to another server very briefly. Surely you can imagine it's not about a lack of imagination there but a sense of attachment?

Who said anything about you? You're discussing one other thread, I've seen about 10 of them, here, then there's the countless other threads exactly like it scattered across the other MMOs I play. The problem I see, as always, is that there have been purges, and yet, that name someone is attached to still isn't released, and it's suddenly time for another one, demonstrating exactly what I was talking about, that you feel paints you in a bad light? This is, of course, assuming that the name isn't on the "this name is protected by copyright and cannot be used" list.

 

You quote my post and use the word "stalking" in your reply to my quote. It's very easy there to assume you tried to put a negative tag to what I said. If I was mistaken, then my bad.

 

And no, the name is not a copyrighted name. It's a name I used for years but in November it was taken from me as a spiteful joke when I moved servers with that character very briefly. Yes, I am convinced it's a spiteful joke. No, it's not unlikely, I have enough hints that point to the name having been taken as a targeted action.

 

And you seemingly still fail to understand that you need to man-up and get over it. 😂

 

I sincerely hope no one will be as unsympathetic as that to you, when you experience a moment of loss.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Ylliarus

I think character name recycling is a necessary evil in MMOs. It needs to happen periodically given the ebb and flow of the player base. I've been playing this game since day 1 and I learned early on that if you don't want to potentially lose a character name you need to avoid moving servers (voluntarily) and remain subscribed. However, when I returned to the game a few months ago after unsubscribing for a year-long military deployment, I was very relieved to see that I hadn't lost any of my character names.

 

That being said, I don't think they should recycle character names from accounts that have expired subs and/or haven't been played in a year or so. This would punish military personnel who are often deployed to places where internet connectivity is not possible (like where I was in Africa). The recycle threshold should therefore be set for accounts that have been idle at least 2 years, or more, regardless of whether or not they were (past tense) subscribers, F2P, or preferred.

 

If it's done with care and consideration, I'd support it, but I will concede that the game is probably overdue for some name recycling.

The ability to use space in our names has already made making unique names about 200x easier. Unless you're really thirsty for that Anakin Skywalker reserve like about a thousand other people. Which screams non-unique.

 

I'm fine with a name purge but I would make the requirements a lot more detailed than last time. Just "purge if not played in X days" is tough for people in army, on board, or in general for people who like rotating what they play a lot.

 

If purge would take place, I would say name purges should only affect characters that: Haven't played in several years and have not reached level 50.

If the account has never subscribed or been preferred then I'd be ok with dropping level check, but not otherwise.

If purge would take place, I would say name purges should only affect characters that: Haven't played in several years and have not reached level 50.

If the account has never subscribed or been preferred then I'd be ok with dropping level check, but not otherwise.

 

These rules sound more than reasonable to me. A considerate name purge like this, is what I have been talking about all this time. I don't want the devs to take away names from subs or active players who simply didn't log in to a character for a time. That's never what I argued for. I always argued for a reasonable name purge like the one you describe.

 

Of course, it wouldn't be fair to name purge subs or active accounts. But there are enough accounts that have been inactive for years and where the characters haven't even reached level 50 where there are unique names that could and should be released into the open again.

 

If it's done with care and consideration, I'd support it, but I will concede that the game is probably overdue for some name recycling.

 

Exactly! It's been little more than two years since the last name purge occurred during the server merges. A small cleanup regarding name recycling wouldn't hurt anyone, especially not those players who don't bother to log into their accounts anymore and who have abandoned the game and don't plan to come back.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Ylliarus

name purges always rubbed me the wrong way

 

i dont think it should ever happen.

 

if you cant be creative, you shouldnt be playing an MMO

So I have a character with a name someone else wants, but it's on a server I am not actively playing on, at the moment. I have multiple 50+ toons on this server, but, let's say, some friends on another server want to do a bunch of stuff, so I get busy over there. How much rage is there going to be when that name isn't released? "But this character hasn't logged in for X time, so I should get to steal that name". Even better, I'm inactive, it happens, but have toons that meet the criteria for my names to be safe, and the name still isn't released? What happens then?

 

I don't recall if it was here, or another of these threads in another of the myriad of MMOs I've played over the years, but one player's answer to this conundrum was "if you're not playing that character, the name should be forfeit".

Someone said earlier, that the names shouldn't be purged, just unlocked, and with the conditions the company feels fair.