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After destroying a user, their name cannot be changed. Here are some examples:

(only 10k+ and the not-extremely-easily-offended need click)

Since making a destroyed account editable would probably be a pain in the ass, I'd suggest the name of the deleted account be changed to something random, such as "Deleted" + some random number.

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  • 12
    deleted+userid would be nice, heh
    – YOU
    Apr 26, 2011 at 11:42
  • 2
    (btw, old answer, unregistered account, troll name, not a real answer, poof (no pun) bye bye)
    – user1228
    Apr 26, 2011 at 13:02
  • I thought that using "user" followed by the user ID was already the default. On EL&U, a user account has been deleted, and the posts made by the user appears as posted by "user3444."
    – apaderno
    Apr 26, 2011 at 13:43
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    @kiamlaluno: The user has a name. The name is offensive. The user has been deleted, so the account does not exist. Without an account, you cannot edit the user. If you cannot edit the user, you cannot change the user's name. The destroyed user's name remains and is visible to anyone over 10k.
    – user1228
    Apr 26, 2011 at 15:16
  • @Will I understood. I was saying that I thought that changing the username of a deleted account to something like "user3444" was done by default. A user on EL&U asked to delete his account, and the name was changed to "user3444," which was not the username used by that user. In that case, the user's questions has been kept, though.
    – apaderno
    Apr 26, 2011 at 16:20
  • I thought that using "destroy" would remove the user name as well, as opposed to just a normal "delete"?
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:06
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    On a destroyed account, only 10k+ users can see this, and I hope the 10K users are mature enough to handle this sort of thing. It does make it abundantly obvious why the account was burned.
    – user102937
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:29
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    @RobertHarvey: Some people get butthurt over the least offensive thing. Like calling them butthurt.
    – user1228
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:33
  • @GraceNote: Nope, it doesn't. The user becomes a ghost, but the name remains.
    – user1228
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:34
  • Looks like I have to re-research the difference between deletion and destruction, then. That was among the primary things I was told... I wonder if it got recalled, and for what reason.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:36

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
7

This is a thing what happens to them now and for a while.

Destroy a user and their wonderfully spammy username junks up into a format like userXXX when you enact the Patrick Swayze evolution on them.

Praise be the holy jeans and best fit denim.

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2
  • Any chance of retroactivising this? Those originally-posted 10k links still bring me near to a faint...
    – AakashM
    Jun 29, 2012 at 14:52
  • oh whoops, I was misreading your name as balpha :o
    – AakashM
    Jun 29, 2012 at 15:08
4

Is this a common case? If it only happens occasionally you could just change the user's display name right before destroying the account, which seems better than losing all display names because once in a while somebody has an offensive one

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  • 3
    Its common enough, and if you forget before destruction the game is over.
    – user1228
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:38
  • 4
    I usually remember to do that. Right after I burn the account.
    – user102937
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:40
  • @Robert @Will Well, that sounds like a personal problem then :). Maybe it's not particularly important, but I'm not a fan of losing display name information on destroyed posts because you guys occasionally come across an offensive name and forget to change it. For that matter, who cares if a destroyed post has an offensive name attached to it?
    – Michael Mrozek
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:44
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    Oh, I could come up with a fake account with a name you'd want changed after the account is destroyed.
    – user1228
    Apr 27, 2011 at 15:35
3

I think the renaming should be optional (a checkbox maybe?), though. In many cases the rename is not necessary and I think when it's not keeping the original name is less confusing to mods and users alike.

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  • I don't see why this is being downvoted. It's a perfectly fine suggestion. Imagine a long-time user wanting their account deleted, but not anonymized. Why force it in such a case?
    – Pekka
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:12
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    @Pekka I'm didn't downvote, but there's a difference between deleting an account (which leaves their non-negative posts around and just denormalizes the name) and destroying it (which erases all their posts and is pretty much only used on spam accounts). The feature-request is about destroying users; a long-time user would have their account deleted instead
    – Michael Mrozek
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:33
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    @Michael ah, fair enough. I wasn't aware of the distinction.
    – Pekka
    Apr 27, 2011 at 14:42

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