14

My nickname was as "JoãoFodão" and suddenly it changed to "user743574". Why? Is it normal?

Improve this question
8
  • 3
    Does this answer your question? How much leeway do we give possibly offensive usernames?
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 2:23
  • 19
    @RobertColumbia No, since I don't see how my previous username could be offensive.
    – user835915
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 2:38
  • 3
    Does this answer your question? How was my username changed without any notice or my permission?
    – πάντα ῥεῖ
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 7:58
  • 9
    The two "possible duplicate" questions might not apply here. The OP already replied to that argument. I think we should wait for a clarification from the mods. To be fair, I do not know any Portuguese (so, I could be wrong) but a quick web search shows that "João" is completely fine and "Fodão" has multiple meanings; some of them are offensive and some are not.
    – 41686d6564
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 8:15
  • I don't see a username history on meta. Unfortunately you need to ask the mod who changed your nick, on the specific site, or a CM to work out this mystery
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 9:19
  • 3
    "Fodão", while unlikely to shock, isn't the kind of word you'd use in church; including it in your pseudonym gives the impression that you're very much at your ease in a place where, I presume, the expectation is of a little more decorum. It was perhaps injudicious of the site moderators to apply the change network-wide, as mores do vary between sites.
    – Scortchi
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 11:32
  • 1
    @Scortchi-ReinstateMonica The point is that I stayed here with that nickname that didn't intend to offend anyone for a while and never happened anything. The thing that is frightening me the most is the possibility of anyone else having access to my account. If it was just changed, I apologize for any "offense", even though it was definitely not my intention.
    – user835915
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 12:30
  • I suppose the moderators ought to have messaged you - they probably didn't because there's no reason at all to think you meant to offend anyone, & that could have come over as making a mountain out of a molehill.
    – Scortchi
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 12:49

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
23

I changed the username. It is vulgar in Portuguese. I understand that it is not intended as offensive, but vulgar language is frowned upon. Since this is a network-wide principle, I changed it network-wide. Since it is clearly not intended to offend anyone, I did not find it necessary to send a message, and I thought the situation to be self-explanatory to understand.

I could elaborate to nonspeakers, but I really don't see a point of analyzing a word akin to the F word and its derivatives.

Improve this answer
7
  • 26
    (+) But sending a mod. message is a good idea, I feel: if the affected user were to get a automatic notification of what had happened, why would indeed be obvious; as it stands they log in to find their user-name's changed, & their consternation is quite understandable.
    – Scortchi
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 15:17
  • 22
    Would you please send a message every time? Even a canned message is better than no message.
    – Mast
    Commented Aug 21, 2020 at 15:36
  • 1
    Strange, I could not find in any way the meaning of this in Portuguese. Is it some unofficial slang term?
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Aug 22, 2020 at 11:08
  • 4
    "(...) just saying it's nearly impossible to know for someone without Portuguese as native language, which means over 99% of SE users." Of course, but I don't see the point you are trying to make, or how that observation is relevant. The ones who need to know are me and OP and we do. If OP would contest what I said, then perhaps this would not be true, but they didn't.
    – Aloizio Macedo
    Commented Aug 22, 2020 at 20:34
  • 2
    @AloizioMacedo Yes, you are right. I never intended to offend anyone, I just don't like to put my real name and wrote anything that could be humorous - not funny. I understand your point and I agree that it doesn't fit the political correctness, even though it was not offending anyone intentionally. I even said in one comment in one of my posts that I was wondering if I should have changed it, but didn't even think about it anymore since it is only a nickname.
    – user835915
    Commented Aug 22, 2020 at 20:53
  • @user743574 No problem. As I said, I was almost sure that it was not your intention to be offensive, and it is probably some nickname you have/use among friends or something similar. Sorry if the situation was not clear, I had assumed it was. I'm glad it is all understood now : ) (By the way, you did not suffer any penalization, just the name reset which is just a procedural thing.)
    – Aloizio Macedo
    Commented Aug 22, 2020 at 20:58
  • 1
    @AloizioMacedo Thank you for your kind attention and explanation. By the way, I don't use it among friends usually, and there is where the humour lies.
    – user835915
    Commented Aug 22, 2020 at 21:47

You must log in to answer this question.