[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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+1 this sucks
13 -
Yeah, also Discord fails to realise that very soon most usernames will be a name and a string of numbers following it, because all the nice ones will be taken, i.e. @waffle928942684837752
It'll be a lot more of a mess than the current system. The username+discriminator system is good and works well. It's not that hard to remember your discriminator. I have remembered mine only weeks after I started actively using Discord. It'll be a lot more difficult to remember a username with a whole lot of numbers because a nice and simple one was taken.
Honestly, this new system isn't all bad, and some of its aspects could just be merged with the current one. Perhaps we could retain the old username and discriminator system, but remove case-sensitivity of the username, limit it to alphanumeric characters and some symbols, and add a separate display name that can be whatever the user wants.
17 -
Absolutely bafflingly decision, Discord Usernames having a unique identifier made them not only secure but also made it so everyone can have their favorite username
Why would you trade this positive UX & security experience for something worse that will just lead to username sniping and impersonation
15 -
Please poll the community on this, Discord
16 -
Why ?
With our actual nicknames (x#0001 for example) we're also unique so why did you want to switch for another system ?
Discord has been a different application for a long time and that's great.
But if you switch to this, it takes away some of that difference from the others...Please don't do that 🥲
17 -
SnIpE, I WINN!!!!
9 -
I know someone who has had serious issues with a stalker. Discord has been the only place she has had a break from them because they don't know her discriminator, this change is going to remove her safety on discord. Whoever thought of this idea should be fired for putting vulnerable users at serious risk.
23 -
+1
Besides all the aforementioned issues, it's hilarious that in the email about this that the decision was not made lightly, as if any thought even went into it. This whole thing is a joke and for once they should actually listen to their users because christ this is embarrassing on their part.19 -
I am very sorry that discord presented this update in such a way. I fully understand and support such a change and consider it justified. However, it needs to be rephrased for a better understanding.
The current implementation uses the username for two purposes.
1. To display it next to the user's messages or in their profile.
2. To send friend requests to this user.There was a problem. The structure of the user allowed to have absolutely any user name (including duplicate names). But at the same time, a unique address is required to send a friend request.
Initially, this problem was solved with the help of discriminators. However, this is not an optimal solution. It is quite difficult for not power users, and it is also difficult for many people to remember their full tag. (username + discriminator).For this reason, discord decided to redo the system and abandon hybridity.
In the new system, there will be two separate fields for the two purposes described above:
1. Global_Name is your username from the current system, however, there is no longer a limit on 9999 users with the same username.
2. Username: This is a string/code that you will use/see exclusively when sending friend requests. (This field is unique for each user. Can only contain letters of the Latin alphabet in lowercase and numbers)-23 -
I'm sure this has been mentioned in the thread already, but it's very classy for Discord to screw over everyone who isn't strictly an English speaker. Cyrillics, kanji or umlaut/accents in your name? Tough luck, Discord considers us second class citizens!
What a joke, if you don't want a global userbase just come out and say so.
20 -
The nice thing about Discord was that you could have your interesting username without having to mash keys afterwards because someone already has it. You say the problem is there's already 9,999 people with that interesting username now, but reducing that number to 1 makes that problem objectively worse. Everyone will just do the key mashing into the actual username instead of via discriminator. Absolutely nothing is fixed.
You look at statistics and assume they mean there's a problem to be corrected. No doubt this is some attempt to try to align with more popular social media but you're going to alienate your userbase in doing so. Please remember that your userbase is the sole reason you exist. Do you remember Skype? Ventrilo? You can be just as easily abandoned if you forget why you're here.
18 -
How do they keep arguing that it can be difficult to remember a four digit number? Like seriously, if you can't remember a four digit number do you also struggle with remembering the PIN to your bank account or your phone number? I fail to understand how something like bob#1234 is harder to remember than something like xXBob_5342Xx (because xXBob5342Xx was taken already!)
If discriminators could contain letters alongside numbers, that would remove the "there's already 9999 people named Bob" issue, and only alphanumeric characters could be allowed in your username with an optional display name for people who do like using special characters. That seems like a far better solution to those two problems and something that the majority of the userbase wouldn't mind.
Not to mention, people will be trying to hack into people who have desired usernames to steal their accounts to sell. Imagine being the guy whose user is George and you get 25 friend requests per day and constant spam messages. And cyberstalkers will have an easier time stalking! This entire thing just solves exactly zero problems and creates 50 more. Brilliant.19 -
The proposed Username change is BAD and INEFFECTUAL:
-Unfriendly to non-English speakers
-Harming famous individuals (YouTubers, brands, etc.)
-Creating a black market of usernames
-Iconic aspect of the app, no confusion
-Individuality through usernames
-Those closely identified with their discriminators
-Catering to a minority of the userbaseIt doesn't address any of your proposed reason and creates a system where the discriminators that you're removing with become A PART of peoples usernames
Under the current system there can only be 10,000 "Mike"s or "Jane"s, under your new system they become Mike1892 or Jane3587. How does that fix anything?
What is the point of this update? What does it solve? WHY IS SOMETHING THAT WORKS BEING CHANGED FOR NO REASON?
I am no longer recommending Discord to friends and will be moving to another platform if the feature is rolled out.24 -
All of the problems listed in the blog post would have been solved by making some adjustments to the current system. Restrict symbols caps and weird fonts in the username, add a global display name and, where needed, an extra digit to discriminators:
1. You don't make every user change their username, only a subset with caps/symbols/etc in their username, the rest can keep their names as they are.
2. Users can then display the name they want with any symbols, fonts and everything they want.
3. People can have the account/username they want thanks to the discriminator and won't be hitting a "this username is already taken" screen (how did you even think the whole 'there are 9999 Johns' is an argument in your favour when the change makes it so there can only be one???) They're also all standardized the same way (username#0000)
4. People will continue to pay Nitro to have the number they want in their account name.
Instead, this "solution" is a downgrade because it leads to the same result in practice (a username and a global display name) except that you make every user change their name, you introduce completely unique names, and you remove a big benefit from Nitro (choosing your number). Also, the standards will go out the window and now there'll be one john, then there'll be john123, john_001, john1234, _john_123...
It's a solution that doesn't actually address half the problems it's supposed to, and introduces a host of new problems on top of it.
18 -
+1
this is a terrible and incredibly pointless change
13 -
I honestly would love to see just how much money they're losing right now in Nitro subscriptions, I'd love to laugh in their stupid faces as they're scrambling to find a way to handle this PR nightmare.
15 -
Reposting this from u/-Gabe from r/discordapp
This is an incredibly wreckless update.
If you have a common username, (Pretty much any name, location, state, business, dictionary word without numbers in it or at the end), then username scarcity a lose-lose situation.
Either you will lose your common name, and you'll have to add numbers to it.
Or you'll get your common name and then weirdos and criminals will start trying to doxx you, threaten you, and swat you unless you relenquish the account to them. Discord is going to get people hurt and potentially killed with this update and that's going to be on them. Unique usernames is such an antiquated system.
Here's an in-depth dive into how Twitter's username system got people hurt, harassed, bullied, and even killed.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4s3afsTpKNbMjGXQSvjhDb?si=Xv92-nJIRIC6EaOQaQ6uxA21 -
1. It's going to be a race to pick our preferred usernames. People are going to be hacked because others will want their usernames; This will lead to an entirely new wave of new scams
2. A very big chunk of people buy nitro specifically so they can have their custom discriminators. This removes their reason to still support Discord
3. A lot of handles will consist of random underscores and numbers, which makes them even harder to memorize than the discriminators and therefore negate the positives
4. Discord is not Instagram/Twitter/Youtube. Discord is a platform to hold conversations. More accounts want the same name, so discriminators are a good way to distinguish between them while satisfying everyone with the name they want
5. The update breaks a lot of community-made bots that are an essential part of Discord nowadays and encourages users to use bots like Mee6 now which cost a fortune
6. Handles will make stalking easier, since they are reused on a lot of social media sites and provide a real danger to people
The update is ugly, inconvenient, and will make things a lot more difficult than they need to be for the actual users.
Change is NOT always better. Don't fix what isn't broken.
https://www.change.org/p/discord-add-back-discriminators?redirect=false
22 -
+1
Literally no one with half a brain cell thinks this is a good idea. And the fact the devs think it is is quite concerning.15 -
+1
No one asked for this. Not a good idea at all
13 -
+1 What a terrible idea
13 -
+1 revert it please
12 -
+1
This change is such an unnecessary one that only brings forth more issues than it does solve any existing issues.Everything mentioned in the blog-post is already a non-issue, as there is no reason to remember what your discriminator is when it's written down in front of you 24/7.
There also is less of a reason to specifically search out users through the Friends feature, because most friends are added through mutual servers, with the rest either being bots trying to message you and hijack your account or an IRL that you're probably showing your username and discriminator to on your phone. Discord is one of the few platforms that doesn't suffer as heavily from the "this name is taken" issue as is prevalent on other sites like Twitter (which we all know a significant amount of your backend is based off), Tumblr, Instagram or Snapchat as examples. It also introduces character restrictions to usernames, heavily impacting users outside of NA, West EU and Southern APAC.
This change will further restrict Discord as a social media/networking service, placing in artificial walls that nobody asked for, nobody wanted and everybody who is aware of it is opposing. The only reason there isn't a massively swarm of users opposing is most likely due to your notoriously poor communication to the end user.
However, if your blog-post is anything to go by, you frankly don't care about your users and are going to brute force this change through regardless for the benefit of absolutely nobody.
If it's money you're thinking about, then you are absolutely losing revenue through cancelled Nitro subscriptions as we did when you tried to introduce NFTs to the service.
Everyone on this platform sincerely hopes you collectively rethink this incoming change.
24 -
+1
Why fix something that isn't broken? Copy/Paste exists for a reason, and 9.9 times out of 10 people people will have their phone or some other device with Discord physically on them to physically show their username#0000 to the other person. Nearby Scan? Never heard of her. To call the reasoning for these changes pedantic is putting it kindly. And like other concerned users here and elsewhere I surely hope you're aware of, I too can already imagine countless issues involving impersonation, scams, account reselling, ban dodging, alienating your international userbase and genuine privacy concerns if this were to go through, while fixing nothing in the way you're suggesting.
-- and then to justify this with 'well you see, sometimes we have 9999 users using the same username which means nobody else can use it now. :( So clearly that means our solution is to change it so only 1 of them can use that username now. Brilliant! Pack it up guys, we've just made another fantastic change to our messaging platform. Now let's head over and watch our userbase brawl it out on the bloodsands over who gets to stay as Sasuke and who has to settle with Sasuke1192.'
Reconsider.
26 -
+1
11 -
It seems unfair to me that users cannot be identified by the name they like with the excuse that it is difficult to remember 4 digits. I hope Discord starts listening to its community for once.
14 -
+1
11 -
Super excited for my former abuser to simply type in @myusername and find me much easier without the denominator and harass me with multiple accounts :)))))))) SO EXCITED FOR THIS CHANGE!!!
(Discord if you see this this is SARCASM)17 -
legitimately if this goes through I will be finding alternatives to discord and dropping it entirely, as well as cancelling nitro after subscribing consistently for ages.
it'll suck to leave so many friends and communities behind, but discord is horrifically out of touch with its userbase and I no longer want to support that.
16 -
+1
hopefully that thread will help
13
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