Names of Merged Characters "Second Chance"

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

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Originally Posted by Behemothx

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

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

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Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji

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

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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:

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

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Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji

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

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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 /

Still waiting for the response.

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.

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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.

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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?

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

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?

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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.

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Originally Posted by Rya

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:

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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?

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Originally Posted by Crysten

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 /

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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...)

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Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji

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?

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"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.

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Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji

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

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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.

...
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.......

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

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Originally Posted by Rya

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)

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

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.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.

Name changed. took 6 days

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!

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Originally Posted by Sarick

#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!

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And please put some thought into it this time. lol

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Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji

And please put some thought into it this time. lol

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We've been over this.

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Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji

And please put some thought into it this time. lol

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A+ trolling, sir. I applaud your efforts.

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.

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Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji

And please put some thought into it this time. lol

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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:

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!!! :(
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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...