Username update, possible alternate solution to confusion when adding friends
So obviously the proposed changes to the Discord usernames are unpopular at best and could be catastrophic at worst for Discord as a company. I myself do not support them.
In the blog post, it mentions that a big reason for the change is difficulty adding friends due to case sensitivity and the discriminators.
In response to that, I think a different solution is possible. As you may know Steam has a system for adding friends called friend codes, it provides a unique code to users that they can share with their friends so they can add each other without having to remember their display name or scroll through hundreds, or even thousands of profiles with similar or identical names.
My solution would be similar to this, however, instead of using a unique number sequence my idea would implement a sort of hybrid between Steams's friend codes and an idea the app "What 3 words" uses whereupon every discord account would be assigned 3 or more random words from the English (or it could be localised based on region) dictionary in a unique sequence (e.g user 1 could be assigned "banana horse cola", user 2 could be assigned "peanut water fist", and user 3 could be assigned "cola peanut banana"). The app What 3 Words uses this system in a way that allows the world to be mapped in 3x3 metre squares each with its own unique identifier that makes it easier for other people and emergency services to find a location that someone in need is in. Discord could implement this idea in a similar way and if properly implemented this would remove almost any confusion when adding friends in regards to case sensitivity and discriminators and would also allow for an easy-to-remember and unique code to give to their friends not to mention that the English dictionary alone has so many words in it that any combination of the 3 would likely never run out in the foreseeable lifetime of Discord as a company.
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https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/14337329256983--Do-NOT-add-The-new-discord-usernames-system The more central the better!
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+1 to this, really creative solution!
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This is probably the actual solution to discord's gripes. your solution would work for a purely verbal route of adding people to your friends. and i support this idea. it's easily implemented, too.
there are of course many ways to approach the "in-person fumbling" problem. discord are just choosing not to explore them. there are ulterior motives at play here and the "people cant remember their discriminators" argument is a thinly veiled excuse.
for example, as an addition to your idea, i would like to put forward the idea of QR codes combined with invite link as well as the three words solution. these QR codes could contain the 3 word combinations you proposed in a URL.
hold your phone up to the person you wish to add -- with the QR code displayed on screen --, they scan the QR code with their phone, job done.the phone opens discord up automagically (if it's installed, or even if it isn't it could default to the web version) and adds the user. (most if not all camera apps on phones will read QR codes these days)
this method combined with your idea serves to propagate and spread the word of discord because it is free advertising for discord.
you could store the QR codes in iOS or android wallets like ID cards (side by side with the three word combination clearly displayed) so you wouldn't even need to open the discord app.
or. you know. just save a picture of this "id card" or print it out onto a physical business card.. three words clearly displayed next to a discord logo. and above it a QR code so they don't even have to type anything in..
you can even send the three words (or QR code, or raw invite link) to someone via a text message.. .. over facebook messenger or whatever, it's just a picture of a QR code. they can point their phone at the screen. or the three words are just, right there, and of course, a link can just be clicked. so. if you're both at a computer, you just send an invite link with the three words in the URL and then that other person can click the link.8 -
As cool as I think a W3W solution would be, I don’t think this is an answer to the username problem.
People who don’t speak English or don’t speak it well will likely find difficulty with this. :(
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I did specify that different regions could use different dictionaries so for instance those in Japan could be given Hiragana-based words, french people could be given French and so on.
With that being said English is the most spoken language on earth with over 1 billion speakers worldwide and from what I can find the top 5 countries to use Discord are the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany and France which make up 47% of Discord's userbase alone. With this in mind, it's a safe bet that the majority of users on Discord will have at least an intermediate understanding of English and could take advantage of a W3W system without much issue.
I would also add that an option for only numbers would also be possible.
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did you know that they already have this magical thing called user ids, which doesnt change when your username does, AND its just numbers so theres no issue with zalgo characters
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