I've noticed a (large) number of users (myself included, as will be apparent) on Stack Overflow have recently amended their usernames to include a "Show of Support" for Monica Cellio. I was wondering is there a way to determine how many folks throughout the SE communities have done so?
This is sort of a two- or three-pronged question:
- I would imagine this would not be possible for ordinary users.
- Maybe moderators have tools to retrieve such statistics.
- Perhaps most importantly, how would such actions potentially 'impact' SE staff.
As an aside: From personal experience, I think such 'gestures' can be effective! In a recent post on which both another user with a similarly-changed username (Lightness Races…) and I had made comments, a third party (a relatively new user) was prompted to ask, "Who's Monica?" Direction was, of course, duly given to the link I have included herein.
Edit to try to make a case for the validity of this Question: We have reached a point where almost everything that can be said about The Mess has been said, and said several times. Also, Monica has retained legal counsel. Both reasons argue for something like a cease fire on our part, but one where we maintain strong pressure. Modification of user name is one way -- not the only way -- to keep the issue visible. Data on this this point would be helpful in deciding the most useful tactics to keep the pressure on without being counterproductive. I emphasize that this is not meant to be divisive; strong supporters of Monica have shown their support without adopting this tactic.
