Names of Merged Characters "Second Chance"

[GlobalVariable]

If anyone still wants to argue that a significant wait time or one time only name change for a fee is any different from server moving we already had a thread for it. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...8000#post98000

[thinktank909]

Paid renames is the perfect recipe for people who scam others and vanish without a trace

Then they should be required to have a temporary title for 2 weeks as Also Known as PriorName A.

[Rya]

It still doesn't excuse the haste and lack of forthought on the individuals int he first place.

you still haven't acknowledged the fact that extensive forethought guarantees nothing... you could come up with 20 well-thought-out names beforehand, only to have them all ring up "unavailable"

I wonder if you would say that if your name, and your best 20 alternatives, were unavailable to you ... would you say to yourself, "boy, I shoulda made a list of 40 crappy names to pick from, not 20! my fault!"

[Barek]

I think the inactive player name thing comes from when they started the Character Reactivation service? I figured because I lost my original name as well, way back when I used the service when it was first offered around the time Aht Urghan came out. I had cancelled my subscription around the time CoP came out, and during that time frame, someone had created a character with the name I had used before. I too tried to have my name changed back but after a while I just let it go because GMs said they couldn't do anything about it. How times have changed <.< lol

[Crysten]

It still doesn't excuse the haste and lack of forthought on the individuals int he first place.

Forethought guarantees nothing. You fail to grasp this. I could have had 20, 40, 60, 80, even 100 back-up names in my head but that means nothing if every single one of them is taken, which is the complaint people have. You're basically saying "it's totally your fault for not thinking of 101 names instead of your initial 100 back ups, sucks to be you!"

I can guarantee that if you had lost your name in a merge, you'd be singing an entirely different tune at this stage. People get attached to their character's identities, and it's quite sad that you fail to grasp that for some people, this is a rather sensitive issue.

For a lack of better analogy, it does feel, to an extent, like identity theft.

EDIT: Rya said it better than I did /

[Kaida]

Still waiting for the response.

[Retiti]

i had to rename a mule way back when kujata bit the big one. (not a big loss, its a mule, and i got a name i was happy with). i sent a flower to the character with her name, its STILL sitting in my mule's delivery box. that says something.

[Alhanelem]

The primary problem, which unfortunately a second rename opportunity does not address, is names that are locked out due to being used by a technically-active (but not actively used) character or mule.

This is an unsolveable "problem." What if that player comes back? Are you proposing that inactive players should be able to be robbed of their names?

[Crysten]

This is an unsolveable "problem." What if that player comes back? Are you proposing that inactive players should be able to be robbed of their names?

It's interesting you should mention this point, actually.

I just spoke to SGM Cocoloot in-game concerning the rename offer. He was able to answer my questions and give me some information that other people might find useful or use for a bit of closure at this point:

- Inactive or not, if your old name is unavailable on the source world, it cannot be changed.
- GMs are unable to tell you the status of your old name, regardless, due to privacy issues. Would be nice to know, but alas.
- All renames are pending an investigation (me and a friend got the same answer) and aren't guaranteed depending on your character file.

Now to respond to Alhanelem, that was the exact reason the GM gave me for not being able to reclaim my old name assuming it was inactive. While I can understand this to a degree, the logic is backwards, in my opinion.

From a business perspective, you have a customer upset at their name change, currently paying subscriptions. On the other hand, you have a customer that hasn't played in x amount of time. You you cater for your current paying customer, or do you act under the pretense that maybe, perhaps, potentially the other person may or may not come back to the game? I'm in support of the former, personally. Do you risk losing current business from an upset customer for the sake of potential income from someone who probably doesn't care about the game anymore?

I do really feel a time limit should be imposed on inactive characters especially, but I can understand the situation and your point when it comes to active players and to a lesser extent, mules (I'm biased, though :<).

Either way, I've made my stance on the issue well known at this point both here and through feedback. I hope the policy does improve in the future and this kind of problem doesn't arise again should another merge occur. I wish people the best of luck if they do go for the renames, and thank the GMs for at least meeting us halfway right now.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

you still haven't acknowledged the fact that extensive forethought guarantees nothing... you could come up with 20 well-thought-out names beforehand, only to have them all ring up "unavailable"

I wonder if you would say that if your name, and your best 20 alternatives, were unavailable to you ... would you say to yourself, "boy, I shoulda made a list of 40 crappy names to pick from, not 20! my fault!"

Nope. Because I've never had any problem what-so-ever coming up with any name at any time for any reason. And I am well aware of forthought, hence why I mentioned it in the first place. You're still not being particularly swaying why people should be able to rename, when they already had that option. It is the individual's fault for picking a name they didn't like the first time. If the entirety of the merger gets a rename, why not everyone else?
Which still leads me back to the main point. Why was so little thought put into renaming your characters after the merger leading to you thinking this is a major issue? We all only got one chance to pick a name, why do you need another?