39
votes
Celebrity usernames
This answer approaches the subject from more of a network level than a MathOverflow-specific stance.
The Stack Exchange Terms of Service deal with this issue as follows:
Under no circumstances ...
- 666
28
votes
MO policy regarding pseudonyms that are other people's real name
I think that it makes a difference whether there is any chance that the person using the pseudonym could be confused with a more well-known person with that name.
There are a number of users who have ...
- 81.7k
22
votes
Celebrity usernames
I brought this up with the moderation team in email; I haven't heard back explicitly from everyone, but have an idea where most of us stand.
For now no official action will be taken. Putting aside the ...
- 53k
19
votes
Accepted
Celebrity usernames
After some further discussion amongst the moderators, I think we have decided that this username and account photo are inappropriate; they seem to only serve to provoke controversy.
I've changed both ...
- 7,780
14
votes
Accepted
How to @ a user with non-Latin characters?
I am not sure about people using mobile devices, but on desktop using comment replies doesn't seem that different for users with non-Latin usernames.
If I am in a comment where such user can be pinged,...
- 4,658
14
votes
Recognizing identifiable users changing user names
Let me summarize what was said in commments and in chat.
There are a few related feature requests on Meta Stack Exchange, but my impression is that they are unlikely to get implemented: Make the “past ...
- 4,658
12
votes
Why are usernames not unique?
MathOverflow has been part of the Stack Exchange network for a very long time, and the Stack Exchange network doesn't enforce this. (I'm not sure how it was back in the days.)
Just as in real life, ...
- 2,741
11
votes
MO policy regarding pseudonyms that are other people's real name
It is evidently inappropriate to use someone else's identity to post on MO (or anywhere else!).
That said, people's chosen username is a sensitive issue. If someone is legitimately known as "...
8
votes
Accepted
Ability to flag user accounts as spam
I brought this up in the Charcoal HQ chat (about Charcoal). They pointed out a few technical hurdles, and also pointed me to evidence that SE has simply decided this issue is not important enough to ...
- 63.2k
7
votes
Why are usernames not unique?
It should be noted that one is allowed to change the display name at will. (This has caused some problems; I have seen the downside of being impersonated in this way.) Indeed, many of the display ...
- 13k
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a way to `@` exactly one of two users whose names differ, if at all, only by whitespace?
Is there a way to @ exactly one of two users whose names differ, if at all, only by whitespace?
Currently, no.
According to How do comment @replies work?, spaces ...
- 101
4
votes
Accepted
Why is the wrong username showing up on a CW answer after a user changes names?
By my understanding, this bug was never fully fixed, although some change in the SE software circa 2011 rectified the displayed usernames on most community wiki posts at that time. For instance, the ...
- 1,446
4
votes
Accepted
How to report intrisically spammy user accounts?
I've tried destroying a few accounts with spammy profiles, and it takes less than 30 seconds to do each one. However, looking through the list of "autobiographer" badge recipients, I would ...
S. CarnahanMod
- 45.5k
2
votes
Recognizing identifiable users changing user names
In addition to the wonderful work already done by Martin there is one other table in SEDE that holds past DisplayNames of users. The PostHistory table record contains for certain events a JSON blob ...
- 101
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