Suddenly Worried About Username

[Allison]

So I'm suddenly worried about my username, thanks to today's editorial. lol It's fhn_ladybug. FHN is the initials of the high school I attended. However, I once had someone point out that they read it as f'in ladybug. Definitely NOT my intent! My account is 16 years old. How would I go about asking TNT about my username? There doesn't seem to be a good ticket category, and I'm not sure the editorial is the best place either. Any suggestions?

I've got a side account I can use, but... well, I really like my main account!

[Shinko]

Jun 2, 2017 20:42:22 GMT -5 Allison said:

So I'm suddenly worried about my username, thanks to today's editorial. lol It's fhn_ladybug. FHN is the initials of the high school I attended. However, I once had someone point out that they read it as f'in ladybug. Definitely NOT my intent! My account is 16 years old. How would I go about asking TNT about my username? There doesn't seem to be a good ticket category, and I'm not sure the editorial is the best place either. Any suggestions?

I've got a side account I can use, but... well, I really like my main account!

I wouldn't worry about it. We had a fella here for a long time, Burn, who's neo username is (I kid you not) Thatsextraheretical. The only reaction he got from TNT was a cookie. No really he got a cookie item from them.

[June Scarlet]

Honestly, I don't see that in your username, so I feel like it's okay.

[Ryanruff13]

It looks like somebody would really have to stretch and look too deeply into it to read it that way, so you're most likely fine, especially if your account has been around for that long.

[Duke Pikachu]

Your username is fine. This all reminds me of the time there were Editorial questions about TNT "grandfathering" old usernames:

Issue #358, Question 16

A question has come up recently about very old accounts that have "inappropriate" usernames. In a recent Editorial, you said that extremely old accounts would be "grandfathered" in and not be frozen because of their username. Now, some accounts have been sent mails saying that they had one week to vacate their accounts before icing them. Did you change your rule? Is there any way possible to transfer some irreplaceable things (trophies, avatars, NC items) to the new account and/or give users 4 save transfers? This is really unfair to loyal and old users who are losing their accounts because a rule changed that they can do nothing about. Is there any possible way to let the user change their username? Please leave out my username if you pick this question.

We are sticking by our previous statement where we said that older accounts would be grandfathered in. But, as in life, there will be some grey areas. There have been (and may well be) some accounts that just fall over that acceptable line. So, on a few occasions we have notified a user and given them a week to clear an account. As for transferring avatars, trophies, etc, we have to review each situation on a case by case basis. There's no easy way for us to do that sadly, otherwise we would. We feel terrible, but it has to be done.

Issue #392, Question 13

A quick question for you: a few Editorials ago, you explained that there are a few Neopets that were grandfathered. I know what grandfathered is, but someone on the boards said that this was no longer the case, because an unconverted Faerie Wocky got deleted for its name a week ago. So, my question is, are you starting to delete grandfathered Neopets now?

The grandfathering wasn't a blanket thrown over all inappropriate Neopet names from some certain point forward. Old Neopet names that would have never been acceptable will still be deleted. The ones that are grandfathered in are ones that we probably wouldn't have deleted back in the day, but these days would not be welcome.

Issue #614, Question 14

Hi, TNT! First, I want to emphasize how much I love this site and will continue to support this site for years to come! Extremely sensitive and uncomfortable topic ahead: I have a very serious concern when it comes to the grandfathering in of potentially offensive usernames or 'pets: I recently came across the username [username removed]. The account is very old, so I imagine I can't be the first person who's noticed or said something. It's not even potentially offensive; if there's some vague line about what goes too far, I'm pretty sure it crossed it and then some. Maybe not everyone would understand why it's offensive due to a generation gap, but anyone who knows or is somehow even related to the victims of those horrible events would have to be horribly disturbed. Please remove my username and know that I struggled for a long time before deciding to "Send it to the Editor!" but some things need to be said.

When deciding on what to do with borderline bad account names, we always give thought to context (especially when it's found on a very old account like that one). There's plenty of words out there that can mean a lot of different things. For example, if someone had the name "Potter" in their username, it could mean that they enjoy gardening, are fans of Harry Potter, or something that is not appropriate for the site. If someone reports it, then we'd look at the account, try to figure out the intent of the username, then make our best judgement from there. We even keep time-frame in mind. Recently a name appeared negatively in the news, and a player whose username was similar to it was reported. However, the account was many years old, and created in a time when that name was not associated with unfortunate events. If this happens to a player and they're suddenly uncomfortable with their username, they're more than welcome to contact us and we will help move them into a new account. (Please note that we cannot "age" an account for any reason.) When we do this, it's a very time-consuming manual process, so please understand that this is only for players with very unique situations such as the one above and is resulting in harassment. It is not for players who have remorse over naming their account after their favourite band / anime when they were 12. Sorry, Inuyasha_spice_gurls_4eva.

[Tiger]

If it had a "k" in there instead of an "h", I'd maybe see that being an instinctive reading of it, but like others have said, it's a stretch. I'd sooner pronounce it as "fine ladybug" than, ah, the alternative, if that makes you feel any better =)

[Allison]

Thanks. I figured I was probably okay, considering my account age alone (certainly they would have "caught" it be now??) but then I had the brief panic, which I'm all too good at.