Names of Merged Characters "Second Chance"

[HFX7686]

We recently had to rename three characters and it was a pretty awful ordeal of trying to find something that wasn't already taken. We had to eventually resort to misspelled versions of our old names because everything we could think of was being used. And we hate our new names.

I spoke to a SGM (Melodicya) today with the hopes of getting a second rename chance and she told me that it wasn't possible at the present time but the name change of merged characters might be reviewed and the policy changed in the future so these people get a "second chance".

I'd really like to see it so characters that haven't been used on a server for 6 or more months have their names temporarily disabled so people who had their names forcibly changed because of an old character sitting in the data could change back to their original names.

Also, characters who are under level 5 should have their names temporarily disabled in case they are the names of people who merged over.

Perhaps a grace period of one month to allow people the time to change their names back.

Finally, obviously, new character creation on these servers would have to be held over for the same period of time.

Thank you very much.

[Dragen]

I lost 2 names last year when Midgardsormr merged with Quetzacoatl. One of them I'd had for 7 years. The fairest thing would be to compare the date of creation times for two characters named the same and force the newer creation to change, but SE doesn't care about fairness. BTW, your characters date of creation IS already stored in their information.

[Romanova]

The fairest thing would be to compare the date of creation times for two characters named the same and force the newer creation to change, but SE doesn't care about fairness.


I don't really consider that fair at all unless they were to take playtime into account.

If someone happen to have the name first but has a game time of like a year isn't fair to someone who has been consistently playing for 5+ years.

Not only that, mules could get first priority over actually played characters just because the mule happened to be created first.

[Mirage]

I think it would be fair to let people take usernames of characters whose content IDs haven't been active in several years.

[Romanova]

I think it would be fair to let people take usernames of characters whose content IDs haven't been active in several years.

This is actually what Blizzard does with WoW. If you transfer your character and the name is taken you can put in a request to get your old name back. If the "taken" name has been inactive for over, I believe, 6 months they will instead give the name to you.

A few of my friends have done that in the past.

I would definitely say that's probably the best option.

[Moomba]

I feel your pain. Everyday since the Midgard > Quetz server merge, I've been trying to create an account with my Midgard name, and not once has it opened up and not once has it shown up when I do a /sea all Moomba. Really wish they would just deactivate unused accounts, really miss my old name.

[Vandalhart]

I support this idea. People who haven't played for 6 months or so shouldn't be able to reserve their names in a situation like this. I realise that I may have to live with my current renamed character, but I don't see a problem with trying to get my old one back.

[Zaknafein]

Yeah lost my name I had from ps2 release last night to an account that hasn't been active since march 08'. That is unacceptable, and something needs to be done about it. The only way to rule fairly on these matters would be in cases such as this where the destination world's name has been inactive for a certain period of time. If it had been someone who was currently playing it would have been understandable. That however is not the case.

When all that billing crap was going down, and I was on the phone with the customer support I asked about this. I explained the situation, and that the world I was headed to had an account with the same name. The tech assured me that if it had been inactive for that length of time I had nothing to worry about. Famous last words....

[Maacha]

My husband lost his character name in the merge from Ramuh to Bahamut, the character who had his name hadn't any transactions on FFXIAH since 2007 >.> Perhaps there would be a way for names that are duplicated to go to the first account that is logged in after the merge, so that only active accounts get priority... Might be a bit difficult to implement though. Really, I think that anyone who transfers in to a server should get a chance to appeal to get priority on a name if the other person with that name has been inactive for a long enough time, be it banned, someone's mule, or simply deactivated.

[Wenceslao]

That issue is a crap, i lost 3 names i got 6yrs ago ¬¬, hate it....

[Rendra]

This should totally be addressed, its wrong that we have to lose our names to people that don't play or have never deactivated their account... SE should go through and deactivate people that haven't played for 6 months if not longer... so the people that still do play can at the very least have a chance at their name they have carried for years. I didn't lose my name but i have many friends that have and instead of renaming themselves they just add an extra letter to their name which looks dumb.

[Mirage]

It's also wrong that a 6year old character should lose their name to a 3 month old character, just because that character happened to be on the "right" server.

The oldest character should be kept, as long as both accounts are still active. If the oldest character with the name is on an account that has been inactive for 12 months, that character's name should probably be changed. Maybe an email notification should be sent to the holder of the inactive account where he would have a few days to reclaim it if he really wanted it. That should probably also require a re-activation, so that people wouldn't just do it all the time with no real intent to start playing again.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

So when you first made your characters, did you put so little thought into it as people seem to have done in the merger? What was the rush?

[Crysten]

I can't really add to this without sounding biased, but I lost my name in the Unicorn > Fenrir merge.

I would be in full support of a system for any player who has come from a transferred server to potentially reclaim their name should they wish to do so, especially for names reserved and taken by inactive accounts.

For those players with names taken by mules, I feel this should also be taken into consideration. Should a character be under level 10 or so, it'd be nice to see the player with the older character or most playtime take precedence in this case.

For fully active characters (one of my friends is a victim of this, the player with his name on Fenrir is more than active on the server and I've seen him running around a ton), there isn't much you can do. :<

To quote a suggestion from another forum, which I'll also be submitting through POL shortly:


My suggestion is regarding players that were forced to change their character's names during the recent forced world merge.

I realize that having two characters with the same name on the same world is impossible, and that the world merge itself was a necessary thing to do. But the way the character name priority was determined was incredibly unfair, and short-sighted. Many players with main characters that they have had since the game began years ago, were forced to lose their name, their very identity, as a result of this merge. To lose a name because another player's main character that they have also had for years has that name is one thing, and perhaps unavoidable. But many people lost their names due to them being taken by long-abandoned and deactivated characters, alternate level 1 mule characters, or in the worst case, someone recently creating a new character solely to prevent someone from being able to keep their name. This should NOT have happened.

To correct this, two things need to occur. First, any main, long-standing, highly leveled character that lost their name to an un-leveled mule character, a recently created one, or an inactive account, should have priority rights to that name over that other character, and hence, should be allowed to change their name back to the original name from the former world. The unused character can then be the one forced to change their name. Secondly, for any future world merges, this priority should be automatic.

SE's decision to simply use a priority based only on which characters were on the source and destination worlds is ridiculous. It's incredibly unfair, and frankly, demonstrates extreme apathy and laziness on the part of SE. This needs to be fixed, and then also prevented for next time.

[Octaviane]

So when you first made your characters, did you put so little thought into it as people seem to have done in the merger? What was the rush?

Do you ever have anything nice or constructive to say?

[erevan]

I had to change my name also, but what I don't get, I never saw "my" name on the new server, it only existed on Ramuh and on Fairy. So after the update, I was excited about logging in and wham, had to change my name. Of course, I haven't talked to anybody about it yet and I'm praying we get the "second chance".

[Bubeeky]

Do you ever have anything nice or constructive to say?

It's not mean imo to point out that the people who have had the unfortunate circumstance of losing their loved name have put very little thought into their new one. We all put a lot of thought into names when we first made a character, why is it so terrible to wonder why they didn't put just as much thought into their new names?

[Leif]

I give my full support to this idea.

I'm very attached to my name, even having to change it slightly makes me cringe. (Leif to Leifs? Ew.)

It really bothers me to lose my name to someone who hasn't played in several years (there's no record that I can find of a Leif on Bahamut, so that says something), add to the fact I hopped from Bahamut to Ramuh in the first place, the name Leif wasn't taken, and that was the only server that had it available.

I got to have the glory of having the name for a few months, and then the server merge announcement hits. Not only am I being forced back onto the server I left, I'm losing a character name that I treasure.

It really is a kick in the face to some of your customers, SE. Something really needs to be done to remedy this.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

It's not mean imo to point out that the people who have had the unfortunate circumstance of losing their loved name have put very little thought into their new one. We all put a lot of thought into names when we first made a character, why is it so terrible to wonder why they didn't put just as much thought into their new names?Yes, exactly. And on a further note, you knew the merger was coming. Why no forthought just in case?

And I have another question too. In this "name reclaiming" process. Who has the right to say who gets what name?
Also, what anti-griefing measures do you suggest for said process?

[Crysten]

It's not mean imo to point out that the people who have had the unfortunate circumstance of losing their loved name have put very little thought into their new one. We all put a lot of thought into names when we first made a character, why is it so terrible to wonder why they didn't put just as much thought into their new names?

The OP illustrated this point perfectly - hard to think of a "good" name when all the alternatives that you have in mind are taken already.

I sat around for HOURS only to see around 15 names I would've remotely liked to have all taken. I don't see how that "isn't putting much thought into it."

In addition, many people (myself included) got this name change completely by surprise. The only means we had to check if our names were taken was through FFXIAH for around two months because of the server lockdowns, remember?


And I have another question too. In this "name reclaiming" process. Who has the right to say who gets what name?
Also, what anti-griefing measures do you suggest for said process?

This has already been illustrated by posts already.

a) In the case of active, levelled accounts, the older account should take precedence. This is the case for most MMOs. I will agree though, there is no truly fair way to decide in this scenario.
b) Mules (characters under say, level 10) and inactive accounts (those who have not played in x time, or have no active POL ID) should never have dibs on a name. Perhaps give them a chance to reactivate using the Return to Vana'diel programme.

In my case, I'm firmly in support for situation B, A however, is much more of a touchy subject.

[Bayohne]

Greetings,

If you made a mistake while renaming your character (or feel that your new name isn't quite as good as you originally thought it'd be) after the World Merge please consult a GM in-game. Please keep in mind however that this is a one-time offer.

I also wanted to say that I understand the frustration that can come from a forced rename in these situations, and that we do read and take your feedback seriously. I'll continue to gather your comments and put them forth to the teams so that your concerns are heard.

[Volkai]

Greetings,

If you made a mistake while renaming your character (or feel that your new name isn't quite as good as you originally thought it'd be) after the World Merge please consult a GM in-game. Please keep in mind however that this is a one-time offer.

I also wanted to say that I understand the frustration that can come from a forced rename in these situations, and that we do read and take your feedback seriously. I'll continue to gather your comments and put them forth to the teams so that your concerns are heard.

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.

[GlobalVariable]

I wnat my old name back, I know its not in use, but I didn't lose it from a server move I started over years ago my old character was not recoverable according to whoever does that. I'm screwed unless some kind of 1 time or 1 in 90 day name change feature happens or I double-server move to do it ;.;

[Rya]

Greetings,

If you made a mistake while renaming your character (or feel that your new name isn't quite as good as you originally thought it'd be) after the World Merge please consult a GM in-game. Please keep in mind however that this is a one-time offer.

I also wanted to say that I understand the frustration that can come from a forced rename in these situations, and that we do read and take your feedback seriously. I'll continue to gather your comments and put them forth to the teams so that your concerns are heard.

It is very encouraging to see a Community Rep post in here, thank you so much!

SUGGESTION:
Sell us a Yellow Highlighter of Namechange (Namingway brand, of course!) for $5 or something, similar idea to world transfer. If name changing is a simple, automated process ... then why not allow us a paid option?

I would love to better understand the current process for determining name change necessity, so that we could help the developers find happyhappy solutions!

EDIT: It should be noted that you can already do this, it just costs a buncha money ($70?) and 90 days. You move "Ryakillage" from ServA to ServB, make a new mule on ServA named "Ryakillage", wait 90 days, then move your original character back. -- Forced namingway!


--------
Regarding this:

you put so little thought into it [...] What was the rush?
The "rush" is that you're stuck unable to play. At least on a rename, you can play, and even consult with your friends/LS and take your time. Then when you're ready, you can pick a new one.

I might take a rename now with help from friends ingame -- we could even vote! :)



--------
We Feel Your Pain

I made a thread in the Carbuncle forum to blow off some steam about this:
Illegal Immigrants: A Support Group (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/7538-Illegal-Immigrants-A-Support-Group?p=95371&viewfull=1#post95371)

My real name is Rya.
My new name is Ryaa.
(Everything I tried was taken: Ria, Ryi, Rye, Riya, Riyah, Ryah, Rhya, Rhia, etc)
I hate it. :(



--------
Other notes:

One of the scariest things was trying to sort them in ascending order of MegaDumbStupid, because as soon as you try a name that is available, it whisks you away and accepts that name, forever!

I ended up buying a $1 content ID out of fear, to test the availability of other names. None worked.

Then I finally gave up because I wanted to play. I chose the only deformed version of my name I came up with that was available: "Ryaa"

[Glamdring]

I had to rename 4 mules when we went to Ragnarok, haven't seen even one of those names ever logged in. But I did change Beefy to Lubefirstplease and I will NOT surrender that without a fight!

[Glamdring]

I wnat my old name back, I know its not in use, but I didn't lose it from a server move I started over years ago my old character was not recoverable according to whoever does that. I'm screwed unless some kind of 1 time or 1 in 90 day name change feature happens or I double-server move to do it ;.;

I feel your pain, a buddy of mine had to quit for awhile (stupid army commitments, ever heard of laptops and WiFi?!) and lost his character. When he came back the character reactivation service wouldn't reactivate him, so he had to start over from scratch. Then they redeployed him, he lost again, etc. After the 3rd repitition of this he just never botherred to come back.

Seriously, would you want to redo CoP 3 times under the original system? Not me buddy...

[thefinalrune]

Stuff you said.
There's actually a much cheaper and faster way to change one's name, but it requires the character reactivation service to be active.

1). Delete your current character you wish to rename.
2). Create a new mule with deleted character's name.
3). Wait the 2-7 days it takes for the reactivation service to show the deleted character.
4). Reactivate the character and pick a new name.

[Rya]

1). Delete your current character
Rya receives the effect of terror.

[Behemothx]

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

[GlobalVariable]

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

Because people don't server move and use a mule to force a rename at all right?

[Crysten]

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.

And to a lesser extent, inactive characters.

Thanks very much for the response though, Bayohne. Great to see the community reps taking a notice of the issue. :)

[Behemothx]

Because people don't server move and use a mule to force a rename at all right?

Was replying about the 5$ namechange actually.

[Kaida]

Greetings,

If you made a mistake while renaming your character (or feel that your new name isn't quite as good as you originally thought it'd be) after the World Merge please consult a GM in-game. Please keep in mind however that this is a one-time offer.

I also wanted to say that I understand the frustration that can come from a forced rename in these situations, and that we do read and take your feedback seriously. I'll continue to gather your comments and put them forth to the teams so that your concerns are heard.


Contacted a GM for a name change as I am unhappy with the one i chose. They knew nothing of this one time change and it took sometime before they got back to me.

The GM told me they could change my name but not right away as they have to investigate my char for some reason or other. Now I'm sat here waiting for the results crossing everything I can in hope

(Pro tip. Don't pick a name while raging you have lost the old one.)

[Mason]

So I contact a GM to get my name change option since I don't like what I chose after the Remora > Leviathin merge, and the GM refuses to do it saying its only for the May merge. Which is nice since this forum post is from March. Thank you SE for putting this in the hands of GMs whom avoid your issues with more effort then it would take to fix them.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

Which is nice since this forum post is from March.The OP is "05-10-2011 10:01 AM." [Please check it.]

[Swazy]

Regardless, this option should be available to the people in the prior server merge as well. It's stupid to only offer it to half the game population because the policy wasn't created at the time it was relevant to the other half... I certainly hope they allow those people the option as well soon.

[Charismatic]

Was replying about the 5$ namechange actually.

There's already ways to do this, more costly but it's already available. If someone really wanted to steal stuff and vanish without a trace they already can.
Besides, we need to get away from the "don't add convenient features because someone might abuse it kinda thing, if you don't believe me... take a look at FFXIV.

[Kadian]

i lost Kadian to the Midgar > Quetz merge i went from being Kadiandarkangel to Darkangelkadian and i'm really hoping to get Kadian back, i checked if my name on quetza to have as a placeholder and Kadian was taken, i checked FFXIAH and there was no record of the name

[annewandering]

Please make this available to the first server merge people too! I got my name but know there are lots of people who are not happy with new names and want to change them. Please let them be equal to this new group of refuges. :D

[Tsukino_Kaji]

There's already ways to do this, more costly but it's already available. If someone really wanted to steal stuff and vanish without a trace they already can.
Besides, we need to get away from the "don't add convenient features because someone might abuse it kinda thing, if you don't believe me... take a look at FFXIV.It still doesn't excuse the haste and lack of forthought on the individuals int he first place.

[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/threads/7357-Character-Name-Change-Service?p=98000#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!" :confused:

[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!" :confused: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?

[Antipika]

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 /

Maybe it's time to use a nickname that isn't generic? Be a little more creative?

Hint : If you are constantly forced to add digits or alter your nickname spelling in games / forums / websites that requires account (youtube etc.), then your nickname is generic.

Never had an issue with my nickname, will never have one.

(I am not saying that any nickname is "good" or "bad", yet some are just overused, when you get 100K+ hits on Google with your nickname and most of these links aren't related to yourself, then you are not allowed to complain that your nickname is taken...)

[Crysten]

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?

"It's never happened to me therefore what's the issue?" is not a particularly swaying argument either. You seem to have a very narrow minded view of the situation, really.

Your core argument is lack of forethought. Forethought this. Forethought that. Ponder this. When the World Merge was announced, I would imagine the majority of people who were concerned would've done what I did at the time: log onto FFXIAH and check their character database or alternatively, attempt to create a PH mule on the destination world.

Is that a lack of forethought? No. The latter was sadly impossible for me as the servers were locked down less than 24 hours later.

The world merge rolls around, and you have a yellow name. OK, that's fine, you have a list of backups. The name change system in XI at this time is completely flawed at the moment though. The system, instead of checking name availability before confirmation, simply takes the first name available that is entered into it and automatically confirms it. As Rya mentioned in a previous post, this is not lack of forethought on the part of the player, but a design flaw to the character creation system.

In most MMOs, I can pick a name, and the system will tell me "That name is available!" or "Sorry, name taken!" Here, I can't even find out which of my back up names is available or unavailable, nor can I get an opportunity to experiment with potential new ones. The second I click Enter, that's it - I'm done. That is something I was not expecting. It's bad interface design. This brings up another flaw in your argument - the first time we created our characters, we had the option to change things we didn't like before we logged in for the first time - name, race, city and so forth. Didn't like your character model? Click back. The name not doing it for you? Click back. Wanted to start in Sandy instead of Windy? Back! This time we didn't get that luxury!

And no, I'm not spending a dollar for the privilage of a name checker via a new Content ID. That is retarded.

Your secondary argument is the idea of impatience. This I will agree with to an extent, but in a game with an addictive nature, you have to realize people wish to get back into the game ASAP. At the same time, it's naive to think that people didn't put thought into renaming characters they've had for several years.

[Rya]

I've never had any problem what-so-ever coming up with any name at any time for any reason.

That suggests to me that you actually put less thought into a name ... or you're just lucky. Either way, your first statement here did not support your arguments very well... :confused:

Consider what might make a name desirable:

Naming Goals
-- Short ("Rya" not "Ryaaaa")
-- Catchy ("Funtimes" not "Fnantaems")
-- Easy to type ("Palwalfal" not "Pqowmziiiin")
-- Wholly meaningful ("Zambam" not "Zambamxxxxxx")
-- Closeness to original name ("Ryaa" not "Nyoo")

As these factors approach convergence, two things happen:
-- Probability of invested forethought increases
-- Probability of availability decreases

Basically, the more of these goals you try to reach simultaneously, the more time it [probably] takes to reconcile them (one goal may contradict or impede another).

Also, because these goals are likely universally appealing, others may use similar tactics to devise new names (reducing the likelihood of availability):

Characters "Rya" & "Ria" both turn yellow:
-- Rya comes up with "Riya, Riyah, Ria, etc"
-- Ria comes up with "Riya, Riyah, Rya, etc"

--> Ria logs in first, and claims "Riya" (so, now taken).
--> Rya tries the same names and fails.

...
.....
.......

PLUS! You still didn't address the "forethought" issue:
Forethought guarantees nothing. :p
(which invalidates the whole "shoulda prepared better" idea)

[Volkai]

That suggests to me that you actually put less thought into a name ... or you're just lucky. Either way, your first statement here did not support your arguments very well... :confused:

Consider what might make a name desirable:

Naming Goals
-- Short ("Rya" not "Ryaaaa")
-- Catchy ("Funtimes" not "Fnantaems")
-- Easy to type ("Palwalfal" not "Pqowmziiiin")
-- Wholly meaningful ("Zambam" not "Zambamxxxxxx")
-- Closeness to original name ("Ryaa" not "Nyoo")

As these factors approach convergence, two things happen:
-- Probability of invested forethought increases
-- Probability of availability decreases

Basically, the more of these goals you try to reach simultaneously, the more time it [probably] takes to reconcile them (one goal may contradict or impede another).

Also, because these goals are likely universally appealing, others may use similar tactics to devise new names (reducing the likelihood of availability):

Characters "Rya" & "Ria" both turn yellow:
-- Rya comes up with "Riya, Riyah, Ria, etc"
-- Ria comes up with "Riya, Riyah, Rya, etc"

--> Ria logs in first, and claims "Riya" (so, now taken).
--> Rya tries the same names and fails.

...
.....
.......

PLUS! You still didn't address the "forethought" issue:
Forethought guarantees nothing. :p
(which invalidates the whole "shoulda prepared better" idea)

Everything I was going to say, phrased better than I would have phrased it.

[Kari]

I have a similar issue with names.
I never lost a name to a merge.
However, when I started the game, I was playing on Remora, where my original character name was already taken, so I took an alternative that is "okay", but not quite what I wanted. [After trying tons of names that you wouldn't even think would be taken.]
Since then, I've transferred to Shiva. Obviously, my current name wasn't taken there...
But, I never got the chance to check if the name I WANTED was available at Shiva.

IMO, renames should be a paid service option. I would gladly fork up $5 to at least attempt changing my name to what I wanted it to be originally.
Just as well, names should become made available after a certain amount of time.
Plenty of games these days automatically delete old characters/guilds/etc to make sure there isn't a clutter of unused names, or at the very least have a system allowing people to use inactive names.
This game, being alive for so long, has a huge list of names per server that are just going to waste.

[Sarick]

Greetings,

If you made a mistake while renaming your character (or feel that your new name isn't quite as good as you originally thought it'd be) after the World Merge please consult a GM in-game. Please keep in mind however that this is a one-time offer.

I also wanted to say that I understand the frustration that can come from a forced rename in these situations, and that we do read and take your feedback seriously. I'll continue to gather your comments and put them forth to the teams so that your concerns are heard.

Update: I was able to get the friend name changed.

When contacting the GM using help desk select "report a violation",then select "yes I have." Using this line "Second chance name change one time opp please." seems to be very effective.

ORIGINAL POST >>
I told a friend this and they sent him an automated "sorry we can't do this." So who is giving these gms updates on their jobs? Sorry Bayonne but, this information isn't helping if the GM's refuse to allow players to speak with them so the offer can be utilized.

[Kaida]

Name changed. took 6 days

[Sarick]

Things to note before contacting an in game GM.

Important: This is only for characters of the May 13th 2011 merger at this time and your name must have been forced to change on the merger to be applicable.

#1 Remove the items in your characters auction house.

#2 Clear your mog mail send and receive boxes on your character.

#3 (Optional) Attempt sending one gil using mog mail to names you're interested in. If the name is taken then it will allow the item to be placed in the send box. You don't actually need to hit send because the game will reject non-existent characters. Be careful this isn't 100% verification that the names rejected are open for use. They may still be reserved or could've been banned in the past.

#4 Contact the GM using help desk select "report a violation",then select "yes I have." Using this line "Second chance name change one time opp please." seems to be very effective.

#5 After speaking to a GM and being accepted log off game and return to the character select screen. Your character name should be yellow forcing a name change. Just select it and choose a new name. GOOD LUCK!

[Tsukino_Kaji]

#5 After speaking to a GM and being accepted log off game and return to the character select screen. Your character name should be yellow forcing a name change. Just select it and choose a new name. GOOD LUCK!And please put some thought into it this time. lol

[Crysten]

And please put some thought into it this time. lol

We've been over this.

[Charismatic]

And please put some thought into it this time. lol

A+ trolling, sir. I applaud your efforts.

[Balz]

I do not think it is right that people in the last merger were excluded from this offer. I was not active at the time of the last server merger and only been back like 2 months. I was forced to change my name on my primary character, but none of my mules. Unfortunately now the name I would have used on my primary after forced to change is the name of a mule. My primary name was from US ps2 launch and I lost that, my first mule was my XBOX live tag. I made my name Xbalz from Balz just to be able to sign in and I definately regret that as people ask X a question when I am in a party and do reply because thats not me.

I would love a chance for a second chance like you are giving other community members.

[Sarick]

And please put some thought into it this time. lol

I Thought this >> #3 (Optional) Attempt sending one gil using mog mail to names you're interested in. << was the putting thought into a new name. Then again people where frustrated so bad they typed things like GVWED etc. It's really is inane The inactive characters get to keep their names. Loyal paying users should get priority over dead beat characters/mules that quit log ago. I'm guessing 80-90% of the inactive non-banned names will never come back anyway so, why keep them?

I never changed my name much, in fact I made a mule on the server with one letter difference right before they blocked new character creation when I tested for Sarick. The post I made here was to help others on this board. I decided to put a copy here from the original post in the interest of making the process smother for this forums readers. I really did put more thought into a new replacement. I can definitely say I spent more time then the quote of yours that started with "and" shown above. :rolleyes:

[Rya]

They're preserving names of dead people ...
... whose inactivity en masse caused the merge!

I understand how it could have saved a little bit of time/work/resources to do it this way ("natives > immigrants"), but it still feels like:

Rya: Here SE, I want you to have this Ninurta's Sash.
SE: Sorry, I am already wearing a Druid's Rope.
Rya: I think you can unequi--
SE: CANNOT EQUIP. ALREADY WEARING A BELT.
Rya: ...preeeeetty sure you can just--
SE: Name change, kupopopopopopo!!!! :D
Ryaa: CURSES!!! :(
____________________

The only thing I can come up with is:
Ignoring names, moving (ex) 1000 Giggles records to Carby, necessitated a change to all 1000 Giggles records (to change their "location" pointer, to Carby). Now you just run the "create new char name" routine on them; if it is unavailable, pick a new one.

However, the existing 1000 Carby records did not need to be altered, since they are "native" records (staying put). This cuts the number of evaluations in half (1000/2000). See, if you had to compare them in any way (age?, active?, etc) then you would have to pull up all 2000 records involved!

>.>

I bet it really is something silly like that...