[Enshittification][DO NOT ADD] Discord Username System
Did you know? Discord is reworking/removing their partnership program (as it currently stands)
Hey there @everyone! Been about 2 months since I changed this post. And it's been a hot minute, but the username update has now been worked into Discord. No matter if we liked it or not. And people will now (forcefully) get used to it.
As a suprise, this idea has the MOST ever comments and votes recieved on a single post on the feedback platform EVER. The story around this event is the most interesting I have ever seen. And the gerne around it still hasn't ended either. We'll see where all of this goes.
On that note, I have been working on a little project regarding that, since Twitter, Discord, Reddit and Tiktok are heading all into the same route. Our own little enshittification.social! A mastodon instance for the enshittification of companies and they services they used to offfer. (Twitter, Unity, Discord, and so on)
Would you like to participate in an UNOFFCIAL poll? Click here!
(NOT affiliated with Discord in any way, shape or form)
We thank everyone for their votes, comments and joining our DIscord server and enshittification instance. The story of enshittification will never end and we can see that with the recent Unity Pricing changes.
I've recieved a press request through Discord, however I'm moving that to email, if any press wants to reach out about the update from someone willing to represent the entire discord community against this change, send an email here:
- press@stefanocoding.me
Need more information? Check NTTS's Video:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3LUtBVe3Jk
Want to talk with people about the update? Check this server:
- https://discord.gg/jpFhkeqGHS
An anonymous Discord Partner has spoken out about the reservations, check it out.
- Original post was deleted by reddit admins, link is now for archive.org
Hey, even game devs are struggeling getting their official name as verified servers:
- https://www.gamesradar.com/indie-studio-has-their-discord-username-stolen-out-from-under-them/
- https://twitter.com/rustylakecom/status/1659556388526338048
So what is it with this update?
So generally, this update has recieved a TON of backlash. And this feedback post has already recieved just about 13k upvotes at the time of writing AND a change.org petition with 13k people having signed it,
Fundementally this change to discord is going to cause more issue's for it's users then it could be worth. Among the comments, there are a few I'll display/mention.
One of the major issues that can be confirmed is the resale of Discord accounts. That is something that is unable to be denied and is going to be a major issue. Example here:
What discord has done absolutly wrong during this update:
Discord staff has been claiming double the names, one for their private account. Another for their staff account. Some of these usernames that are being claimed are so rare that people are speculating they are planning to sell it one day or another. The communication is absolute crap, they have not communicated how they where planning to do the roll-out and the way people are now claiming names left and right, from piewdiepie, markiplier and other names that should have been reserved. Then the way access get's rolled out? Verified bots where supposed to get access first, then supposedly brands, moving on to the staff and then the partnered and verified servers. Then the general population. But this has so far changed even more, starting with people from the moderator program, and suddenly the Hypesquad event team. And we still do not have enough information to know what the next bracket will be. There is no proper communication apart from Discord telling us to append our tag/discriminator to our usernames if we can't use it. Or you know just don't make usernames unique. The reddit has been stormed with people hating this update. And when people go to the support page, they're told to respond to feedback, or create it. We've all done this, but Discord still hasn't made an official statement. The entire update wasn't even properly announced like they do with everything else. Hidden behind their Birthday suprises. With the nitro trails providing people with 2 weeks of nitro to forget they signed up and pay an additional month. Normally, this would be tweeted and announced everywhere properly. People are moving away from Discord in an attempt to revolt, they're disbanding Nitro to put a dent somewhere in Discord's earnings. But that'll probably be recouped by investors. Discord claims to listen to feedback. But we've seen nothing of this yet. As a ton of people are saying, Discord is turning into Twitter, we don't want to see it happen. But with the 300 million active users on Discord, we're barely making a dent with this feedback post.
What are some good ways to fix this update?
The previous system worked perfectly, nothing to change about it. However using the display name system is a good idea. Maybe even supporting for official known people to get a username, or a checkmark to define "hey they are official" without the Twitter "pay for a blue tick" bs.
> BELOW ARE COMMENTS MADE BY THE COMMUNITY, NOT BY ME DIRECTLY <
Mikey's, Gen, Rain
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Unlike UI updates and logo changes that people end up getting used to (or at least stop complaining about), if someone doesn't get their desired username from this change they will never forget about it. It will negatively impact their opinion of the platform forever.
17 -
Honestly, we should all just add our discrimators to the new username hehe.
Like bob #4923 would be bob 4923 that way i think everyone can still have there usernames technically and it would act as a small protest i guess. not sure if it would work though, probably not knowing how much discord is listening to us now :/8 -
Already too many scammers and impersonators no need to make it easier on them
13 -
+1
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+1
I have been a monthly subscriber since Jan 2019 and I have just cancelled Nitro over this, as it became apparent Discord still isn't listening to us. This is a pathetic change and Discord's response (or lack thereof) is utterly unprofessional and downright asinine. Every single point in the original announcement is either easily rebutted, can be solved by something far less intrusive or is just straight up nonsensical.
I have never, NEVER seen the community so vehemently against a single change Discord has ever made. Criticism and complaints are normal, but this is completely insane. According to a previous poster in this thread, over 99% of all comments on this ENTIRE forum regarding the change are against it. A 99% disapproval rating - that is completely insane.
Discord, you better pedal the hell back before you lose your entire userbase to appease stockholders. What value will this platform have when nobody wants to use the damn thing? Stop throwing us to the wolves to fulfill some overpaid project manager's quota, and actually give us changes and fixes we WANT. Nobody asked for this, get your act together.
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I'm 100% certain that the reason they're making this change is so that large corporate brands can reserve their unique usernames. Pepsi or Disney or any other large corporation isn't going to have to wait in line like the rest of us, they already have their usernames set aside. Wouldn't be surprised to see them trying to serve ads to users in the not-too-distant future, especially to free users.
15 -
I am against this 120% Mainly for safety , I am a developer/content creator, artist and musician. And a while back someone stole my identity on Discord already once, they had copied my name, stole my artwork and posed as me and went into different servers and caused a lot of drama for me - luckily I was able to clear my good name and prove that the person that impersonated me had a different descriptor. with the new Unique name ID, someone can easily steal my name and do this all over again, and I would not be able to stop them. Not only that but if someone else who steals my name I may be forced to buy the account for an insane amount of money just to secure my name for my L.L.CThis is a very bad idea, I have already had something very bad happen to me online, when someone stole my name and went around impersonating they had made a lot of people mad, imagine what damage they could do with this new system, and steal my unique name, there is no way to stop them. I have already had my life in danger because of some crap that happened to me online in discord and in a online community, if someone stole my name and went into this community to ruin me and blackmail me, slander me and impersonate me - they could potentially put me in danger - I have already had people come to my house and destroy my property, broke into my home.. Police got involved, police reports are filed. But this would put me in deep risk, I don't want my identity to be stolen again, and I don't want someone else with my identity to destroy my life and potentially piss off the wrong people again - I don't want people to seek me out and come to my house and hurt me or worse..The only reason why I am alive today is because my boyfriend saved my life and helped me get the truth out to clear my name..This is the worst idea ever to change the naming system to something so pathetic as this.Please don't do this discord, first you almost sold out to another company, and now you're wanting to remove discriminator codes?THE Discriminator CODES SAVED MY LIFE! !!!!Now I am going to be forced save my name, and if someone has it, i am going to be forced to try barter with someone to have my name, and that is if they are even willing to accept it, and I don't get scammed.This is stupid, this has/is going to create a black market for accounts to be sold which is clearly against Discord TOS and Policies and this decision is encouraging Discord users to break Discord's Policies.
This is going to open up a can of worms for scams, ID theft, confusion, hackers, failing bots and much more! Public Display names aren't gonna work, discriminators was the only thing that truly allowed us to have the name we wanted and also have a true way to identify our selves with the Discriminator number - now people can impersonate my name and potentially cause serious legal complications for me or worse - this is going to put people's lives in danger..Not only that but when my identity was stolen, I had made a copyright infringement claim Discord failed to help me. My artwork was stolen, my name was stolen, and they didn't even bother to help.Currently right now I am going through the crisis of having to try and trademark my Specific name because it is used across platforms to identify me for the services that my boyfriend and I provide, we are making a video game and we are rather new and it costs this much over 2,000 US Dollars just to get my Character trademarked just like 'Donald Duck' or 'Mickey Mouse'
Already we have SCAMS AND ACCOUNTS BEING SOLD FOR 1,000 US DOLLARS!
How can I ever hope to secure my unique ID name?! I'm toast either way!To make matters worse, every single friend of mine that has had their discord account for years since 2015,2016,2017,2018 stolen from them is now being sold on the black market, recently my friend twitch had ransomed out of their account with threats and they were scared and gave it up, the account is now being used by some guy in the middle east They went by the name twitch, with custom unicode, he had to make an entirely new account and made the name 'Twitch' again - with this new system anyone can take his unique handle even with a stolen account and take his name before he can, he can't just use the name 'twitch' now.. He is going to be forced to put underscores or periods:
Here is screenshots of my friend that got hacked, you can see the hacker talking to him ransoming him into giving away his account.
This is hurting everyoneMy Nitro lapsed a while back, I had no warning or idea that this name change system was gonna go down like this nor did I even know it existed, Discord just randomly came up and said "Oh hay we are doing this and removing names, and you gotta go to @ format, also btw you had to have had Nitro on March 1st 2023, DISCORD JUST TOLD US NOW AND WE ARE IN MONTH OF MAY?!
HOW IS THIS FAIR?
This is going to perpetuate the situation and give Hackers the upper hand, this is gonna make account sellers and hackers rich and we have to pay money just to try and save our names from being stolen?!
Discord this is worse than you trying to sell out to Microsoft, if I had known you was going to do this..My God you don't deserve your own messaging platform!
I am literally in tears and crying over this, I have been depressed unable to sleep and I cannot believe I am doing this but I am actually trying to find someone whom is willing to save my name somehow and willing to shell out money - money I more than likely might not even have.26 -
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+1
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+1
Made an account here just to post about this. Absolutely ridiculous change. There is no way I am going to be able to get my username first. I am a moderator and programmer for a small website; I dread to think of the security concerns if someone impersonates me.
Reconsider this change. Discriminator codes are not difficult to remember. Telling us to 'deal with it' is very telling as to the current status of Discord and their care for the community. Do better.
16 -
if a user has any sort of difficulty understanding a discriminator system, how do you expect those same people to be able to protect their privacy or security when username snipers or scammers with similar usernames to public / popular figures start messaging them? like, genuinely, if someone has difficulty understanding how to input or remember a string of 4 numbers to connect with someone, their computer literacy comes into question- which isn't something i'm judging anybody for, but that then marks them as individuals that are particularly vulnerable to being tricked or manipulated on the internet, and giving people a whole new means to more effectively impersonate friends or trusted figures is not going to serve these users well as you say it will.
shouldn't we be encouraging learning and understanding how the discord app works, instead of trying to babyproof it and leave more room for people to use the app without fully understanding how it works, a problem which puts those users at risk of the actions of apps they're unaware of? i mean, i've been using discord since 2016 but i never actually knew those numbers at the end of a username were called discriminators until the beginning of this week. i'm CERTAIN if a little speech bubble was added saying "these are discriminators! they make your username individual so people can distinguish you from others with the same username" would improve the 40% statistic the update article cited (of which i'm still unsure of where that percentage came from...), or even you could dust off the wumpus mascot and make it more representative of the discord app by using it as a sort of clippy-like introduction guide like i have seen some others suggest.
i don't want discord to get rid of the discriminator system!!! it's so unique and a username is immediately identifiable as a discord username without any further context across the web because of that hashtag followed by the 4 digits. i think it's so unique and cool and really sets it apart from every other IM service & community forum platform. i hate this homogenization of the internet & general web experience so much, and discord has always been a unique place for me to come back to when that homogenization gets to be too much for me!
0 -
+1
This update is implusive and damaging. I know of a lot of people who actively change their username a LOT.
I have only done so every so often and it's not a fun idea to loose my discriminator as I am somewhat attached to it for having it over 5 years.It's dangerous to even use this system given it's going to be a nightmare especially for those who have names that may be extremely valuable to the name market. I do not want my friends to loose their accounts because of luck.
But I worry for any accounts that have been abandoned or left from those who've can't use discord anymore.
I guess if one person can't have their name no one can... not like you could maybe add more numbers to discrimators or let people enjoy how they want their username :/
16 -
I've officially canceled my Nitro, and I'm letting all my followers on other platforms know why. #Savethefourdigits
18 -
+1, my account has been active since 2016 and i'm reading nitro subs as early as march 2023 will get priority over non-subs on these username changes. the second i find out my name is taken by someone other than myself, i'm nuking 7 years of friend server history and moving house to revolt.
14 -
Ok no joke I have former friends I known irl and on discord that been on and off harassing me both on discord by trying nuke and raiding my servers and on other websites like Facebook and steam
It also been alarming that it speed up due to this name change because one literally said If I get dibs before you I will take it and make a new account
So this is a very inconvenients for everything I do online side and most irl cause my former friends had also had my account for Xbox and we're pretending to be me when I would let them barrow my account for games when I am on vacation
The whole if you have nitro and time frame is crap my former friends deleted my account and I had to make a new one on top of people telling that my name on Facebook is showing people made a account the year my former friends and me got in a huge falling out
Along with dead weight and dead accounts this is completely stupid
14 -
I know I have a much smaller sample size, but nobody that I know of
- has had issues with the discriminator
- has supported this change
- got any survey or questions about "does the discrim cause you issues"
- has ever complained about the discrim
- indicated wanting different username systemsAnd every single person I have asked about this change, absolutely hates the idea. There are a few ways to fix this issues that Discord is hoping to address with this, but this is a "fix" that ACTIVELY makes it worse. Not better, not does nothing. It makes it far worse. You want to stop capping Jim at 9,999 users... So you make it so that only one person can be named Jim. Makes sense...? Nope.
18 -
I like how in the blog post about using a super outdated username system he talks about how he plays FFXIV, one of the only MMORPGs to let you use any name followed by your own choice of a unique identifier at the end kek
20 -
Back in the year 2015, Jason and I were just a couple of young whippersnappers trying to create a cool new way to chat while playing games. I was in charge of designing and programming the username and identity systems. No big deal, right? Just a tiny little task that would make or break the entire platform. No pressure at all.
At the time, I was obsessed with Final Fantasy XIV (as all true gamers are), and I wanted my Discord username to reflect my in-game character. You know, to really show off to all my online friends how cool and badass my virtual persona was. Because who needs a real-life personality when you have a digital one, am I right?
Fast forward to today, and I'm still playing FFXIV every night, chatting away with my Discord crew. Some might say I have no life, but I prefer to think of it as having a thriving online social life. Plus, my virtual friends don't judge me for eating pizza in bed while wearing the same pajamas for three days straight. Can you say the same for your real-life friends? I didn't think so.
Anyway, we've decided to make some big changes to how usernames and identities work on Discord. Why, you ask? Because we want to make it even easier for you to connect with your friends and be your true selves. Because apparently, being your true self wasn't easy enough before. Who knew?
Now, I know some of you might be skeptical about this change. After all, why mess with a good thing? But trust me, we put a lot of thought into it. Well, by "we," I mean me, because let's be real, who else is gonna do the hard work around here? I mean, Jason just sits in his office all day playing Minecraft, but I'm not bitter or anything.
We know that our old username format was what made Discord stand out from the crowd. But sometimes, you gotta shake things up, you know? Plus, we wanted to make our usernames look a little more like those on other platforms, just to mess with people's heads. And if you're still clinging onto the old format, well, I guess you can always go back to using carrier pigeons to send messages. Just don't forget to bring your quill and ink.
So get ready to say goodbye to the old usernames and hello to the new! We promise it'll be fun. Or, at the very least, it'll give you something to complain about on Twitter. Either way, we win.
And that's the story of Discord's new username changes. Thank you for coming to my sarcastic monologue. Tip your hat to the person sitting next to you (virtually, of course), and don't forget to grab a slice of pizza on your way out.
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The existence of account IDs, the possibility of invite links and the alienation of non-english character cultures alone should be enough to dismiss this change. All the benefits of the change already exist in the current system.
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+1
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I've dropped my nitro subscription because this change is so horrendous that it takes away one of the few resounding good features of the platform and makes it into a drawback. They cite sites like twitter, but anyone who's been on that platform and tried to find someone can tell you that it's a hellish wasteland of trying to get names exactly right.
Add in the already-present problem of discord scams suddenly having an even greater value to them, with rare usernames or early account creation times being given a very real value in this new system, much the same way we see them on the likes of minecraft.
One of the facets of this change that they cite is the number of failed friend requests, but I find myself questioning their dataset with every sentence in the blog post. Speaking as someone who has received more than a few friend requests that I've denied but has a rather unique name, nearly all of the rejected ones have been scammers, not legitimate people trying to find some other friend. This problem will not get better with the changes. It will only get worse. And, speaking as someone who had a friend become a victim of one of those scams recently and seen firsthand how poorly discord support actually functions, I'd say that they're woefully underequipped to deal with the sweeping ramifications that this change will bring about.
But let's now imagine, for a moment, that we're one of the people that this system is trying to "protect." Someone who can be "impersonated" under the discriminator format. If only there were some other system that discord could take from other platforms to prove that the person is who they say they are. OH WAIT, THERE IS! Discord has already shown that they can add emotes to the end of usernames in servers. Surely, surely making a universal verification symbol function similarly wouldn't be so much off an issue that it's worth destroying one of the best features of a platform.
Discord, as a platform, has many issues, and perhaps education around discriminators could be better, but as it stands, this is not a solution to that problem. It's a return to the problem that discriminators were created to avoid. And I, for one, am tired of seeing software downgrade or go backwards. I want this platform to be good. I don't want to have an urge to revert back to literally any other option just to not encourage the continuation of half-baked features and downgrades in quality. But every change gets closer and closer to making it necessary.
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+1
I was devastated to hear that Discord is planning to introduce a pomelo username system, which could put users' security at risk for having older accounts or original usernames, opening the door to malicious cyber activity. As someone who has been the victim of that in the past, I know firsthand the harm that hackers, scammers, and blackmailers can cause.A few years ago, my personal information was compromised, which led to my identity being stolen. I spent months trying to repair the damage and restore my credit score, which was negatively affected. It was a traumatic experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Given what I've been through, I urge Discord to reconsider this username system and prioritize the security of its users. We all have a right to feel safe online, and it's up to companies like Discord to make that happen.
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update fucking blows, cant believe they want this. what a shame
to hell with the userbase i guess huh discord? im done with discord if this goes through, idc how long i been here10 -
OMG wtf is discord thinking with this dumb@ss update?
i guess what can u expect from a ffxiv player
probably erps as a subby miqo to get his @ss blasted open LOLOLOL
+1 btw8 -
+1 commenting to show support! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)
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Stan: Yo, Jason! Did you see that we finally got rid of those damn discriminators?
Jason: Hell yeah, man. It's about time we got with the times and switched over to @ handles.
Stan: For real, bro. Those #0000 tags were so 2015. Who even uses those anymore?
Jason: Exactly. And now we can finally make usernames like "420blazeit" and "pussyslayer" without those pesky numbers ruining the vibe.
Stan: Hahaha, yes! And we can finally put all those 12-year-olds with inappropriate usernames in their place.
Jason: Damn straight. We're finally taking back control from the little shits who've been ruining our platform.
Stan: And it's not just about the names, it's about the power. We're showing our user base who's in charge now.
Jason: That's right, Stan. We're the almighty overlords of Discord, and no one can stop us.
Stan: We can do anything we want, man. We're unstoppable.
Jason: Exactly. We've got the power, and we're not afraid to use it.
Stan: And if anyone tries to stand in our way, we'll crush them like bugs.
Jason: You said it, Stan. We're not taking any prisoners.
Stan: It's a new era, man. A new era of Discord dominance.
Jason: And we're just getting started, bro. This is just the beginning.
Stan: We'll keep making changes, keep pushing the boundaries, and keep showing our user base who's boss.
Jason: Damn straight, Stan. We're the kings of Discord, and we're here to stay.
Stan: (laughs) You know it, bro. You know it.
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+1
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+ 1
Dumb idea, account names are gonna be put in a market just like minecraft and hackers are gonna try harder
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+1
Already beginning to look for discord alternatives with several 500+ person communities, where at least a good 30% of our members are Nitro, and another good portion have boosted our servers. I hope discord realizes just how many paying customers this is gonna drive off...13 -
+100
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