Want usernames spelled out

August 17, 2006 8:07 AM

It would be nice if one's username pointed to the spelled-out version somewhere on the front page—maybe on the upper right—so it could be easily found. It's useful for typing in other users' names when you want to see what they've been up to. Much more useful than, say, this.
posted by interrobang to Feature Requests at 8:07 AM (41 comments total)

Totally agree. The member thing drives me batty and I always end up having to use the search function to find member pages.
posted by dobbs at 8:16 AM on August 17, 2006

I agree. I keep my own spelled out version bookmarked so I can just change the url to whomever I want to find a link or post from.
posted by jonson at 8:16 AM on August 17, 2006

Preach on, brother /usename.mefi/interrobang!

(though, I imagine a number-based lookup is a lot less taxing on the db)
posted by mkultra at 8:21 AM on August 17, 2006

/signed
posted by Wizzlet at 8:21 AM on August 17, 2006

Agreed, agreed.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:24 AM on August 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

though, I imagine a number-based lookup is a lot less taxing on the db

Shouldn't be much more taxing, as long as the username field is indexed.
posted by chrismear at 8:26 AM on August 17, 2006

But how will we pull rank without our HumanWorth^TM rating right there?
posted by sonofsamiam at 8:27 AM on August 17, 2006

The problem is that I never filtered the username field, so there are users with slashes in their usernames that can screw up the /username/ URL. I'll try URL encoding it to see if that works on them.

(btw, http://www.metafilter.com/username/mathowie works as a slightly shorter shortcut)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:31 AM on August 17, 2006

Actually, the sociological ramifications of this change would be really interesting. No longer would you know anyone's user number. I couldn't hide behind my 1337 pre-10k ID and would have to rely solely on my keen intellect and rapier wit.
posted by mkultra at 8:33 AM on August 17, 2006

Nthed. I wouldn't disagree with changing it sitewide, even... since people would still care about join dates, it would probably encourage people to check out the profiles of unfamiliar members more often, instead of merely hovering. But independent of that, changing the upper-right link would be a nice convenience.
posted by gsteff at 8:35 AM on August 17, 2006

Do you people really hover over usernames to look at the number? Egads.
posted by occhiblu at 8:45 AM on August 17, 2006

They sure do, number 16640.
posted by interrobang at 8:47 AM on August 17, 2006

You're all very weird. :-)
posted by occhiblu at 8:48 AM on August 17, 2006

I do, however, agree with user 14200's original point.
posted by occhiblu at 8:49 AM on August 17, 2006

Noooooo! My greasemonkey script that bolds lower user number contributions and removes higher user number contributions will break!
posted by scarabic at 8:52 AM on August 17, 2006

In fact I'm going to make a post so I can hover over mine and see if it's less than yours.
posted by RustyBrooks at 8:58 AM on August 17, 2006

It is! For joy!
posted by RustyBrooks at 8:58 AM on August 17, 2006

What 13090 said.
posted by peacay at 9:00 AM on August 17, 2006

You'll pry my 14K membership card out of my cold dead...

*looks down at hands*

Oh no! You bastards!!
posted by languagehat at 9:13 AM on August 17, 2006

Generally, only when they're being jerks, occhiblu. I have a personal theory about the personality patterns of the various sign-up waves, and looking at user numbers selectively reinforces it for me, so I can believe it more and more over time.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:17 AM on August 17, 2006

n00bz.
posted by Jimbob at 9:33 AM on August 17, 2006

Yeah, but see it's more fun to actually go the jerk's profile and hunt down *other* jerky comments he or she has made (or not), so that you can determine whether you're overreacting or if the user is, in fact, a jerk. Then you can glow smugly secure in your own superiority for *much* longer.

Not that I would know or nuthin.
posted by occhiblu at 9:35 AM on August 17, 2006

occhiblu writes "Do you people really hover over usernames to look at the number?"

I do it when I see an interesting or brain dead comment from a user name I don't recognize to see whether the person is new or I just haven't noticed them before. Also I'll point out minor breaks in netiquette to new guys (stuff like that goofy @User name thing).
posted by Mitheral at 9:39 AM on August 17, 2006

I hover when I see someone whose name I don't recognize say "This is not what AskMe is for" or some such thing. And then I scoff when their user number is higher than mine.
posted by peep at 9:46 AM on August 17, 2006

Semi-related question - I had an account here ages ago, and I've been trying to remember the username without success. I thought I had it, but a search didn't turn anything up. Have there been purges of usernames that didn't show any activity for N months/years?
posted by booksherpa at 9:56 AM on August 17, 2006

LESS TALKY AND MORE DRAWY, USER 14200
posted by cortex at 9:57 AM on August 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

Yeah, but see it's more fun to actually go the jerk's profile and hunt down *other* jerky comments he or she has made (or not), so that you can determine whether you're overreacting or if the user is, in fact, a jerk. Then you can glow smugly secure in your own superiority for *much* longer.

Or, you can go one step further and cherry-pick comments to grind your personal axe.
posted by mkultra at 10:02 AM on August 17, 2006

That's why I included "you can determine whether you're overreacting." An important, and all-to-often skipped, step.
posted by occhiblu at 10:04 AM on August 17, 2006

Yeah, but see it's more fun to actually go the jerk's profile and hunt down *other* jerky comments he or she has made (or not), so that you can determine whether you're overreacting or if the user is, in fact, a jerk. Then you can glow smugly secure in your own superiority for *much* longer.

And if you document it well and provide a funny writeup, I'll let you post it on Refi.

Seriously, it's been over a month. I'm swamped. Help!
posted by cortex at 10:06 AM on August 17, 2006

Drawing right now, cortex
posted by interrobang at 10:06 AM on August 17, 2006

An important, and all-to-often skipped, step.

Much like including the final O in "too."
posted by occhiblu at 10:11 AM on August 17, 2006

Good boy. I mean, you got a nice place here. Nice little, eh, habitation. It'd be a shame if something were to happen to it, you know? A real shame.
posted by cortex at 10:13 AM on August 17, 2006

booksherpa: old accounts are still here, let me know if you can recall what the username was or what email address you may have used to sign up for it and I can do a little looking for it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:56 AM on August 17, 2006

mkultra writes "you can go one step further and cherry-pick comments to grind your personal axe."

I missed that the first time around, what a thing of beauty.
posted by Mitheral at 11:01 AM on August 17, 2006

But 187 is the police code for homicide, and 81 is the square of 9 and the fourth power of 3!
posted by safetyfork at 11:01 AM on August 17, 2006

n00bz. - Jimbob

So says 1490. That's about 100 members after the cool people stopped coming.

Have there been purges of usernames that didn't show any activity for N months/years? - booksherpa

Yes, to save bandwidth.* That's also why we should be typing small**

But 187 is the police code for homicide, and 81 is the square of 9 and the fourth power of 3! - safetyfork (18781)

This reminds me of a woman I've dealt with who is trying to have her home address officially changed to her Speshul Sekrit Lucky Number. Her phone number is this number, and she's changed the numbers displayed on the outside of the house to this number, but that's not enough for her. She wants the plans at the City amended to match, and she's willing to pay a few hundred dollars to have new drawings done up so that she only gets the good voodoo. Or something. I figure the bill to her for this service should be her lucky number plus one, just to throw her off. It was one of the more bizarre requests I've had to deal with.

* that was a joke***
** so was that
*** Funniness of jokes not guaranteed
posted by raedyn at 11:33 AM on August 17, 2006

http://www.metafilter.com/username/?!

causes

Parameter 2 of function Right which is now 0 must be a positive integer

which actually looks like a possible sockpuppet account name.
posted by ?! at 12:12 PM on August 17, 2006

mkultra: "I couldn't hide behind my 1337 pre-10k ID and would have to rely solely on my keen intellect and rapier wit."

I do have a pre 10k ID but I've never been able to hide behind it. What you talkin' about Willis?
posted by ZachsMind at 3:07 PM on August 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

Y'ever have one of those days where you ask "Hey, can I have a soda?" and someone hands you the formula for Coke? Yeah.

Thanks, Jessamyn! I got way more than I expected . . .
posted by booksherpa at 9:28 PM on August 17, 2006

I love threads like this.
posted by baylink at 9:06 PM on August 18, 2006

I just have to say, booksherpa's original account has a lower usernumber than mine. Kickass!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:42 AM on August 19, 2006