New Username Rollout, and How it Really Affects the Community

Hey, Discord team! (V-sauce, he - no? Okay.)
So, as exciting as it is to see new features rolled out in Discord to make the experience better for users across the globe and wide, wide world of the Internet, I have some concerns about the upcoming change regarding unique usernames and removing discriminators.

Unfortunately, as is the case with literally. Any. Platform. Ever. That requires a login, Discord has its own issues with things like impersonation, account hijacking, messages from weird, random people you never asked for, et cetera. Having a four-digit discriminator (and being able to customize it with Nitro!) seriously mitigates a lot of this - with the discriminator, you're at least able to tell at a glance that, yeah, this is the Jedi you're looking for.

This isn't as light of a matter as sentimental attachment to my discriminator, though it's served me well over the last 6.5 years. If someone isn't on the spot with their typical username once this change rolls out, someone else may snag it first and use it to impersonate them - the issue comes down to either keeping your privacy (by choosing a username that isn't your usual one), or allowing random people who do know your username to message you at random. Which, let's be real... sucks for the person with the username ElonMusk. Or tonyhawk. Or Markiplier. You get the picture.

On top of that issue, I'm going to need to get a little bit dark. Once this change is implemented, filtering message requests and information may become more difficult for users that are minors - at least with a discriminator in place, you can't see someone's username on a YouTube video, Twitch stream, or other platform, realize they're a child, and be able to immediately and quickly reach out to them. The Internet is, as I said, a wide, wide place... and that means it's got its fair share of dark corners. It remains the responsibility of developers and individuals alike to safeguard the youngin's that use it - that includes maintaining strict privacy measures and taking care to make sure that even if you're the 13 year old kid that checks the "I'm over 18!" box, you aren't necessarily put in the line of fire.

In the end: it's about identity, it's about consistency, and most importantly, it's about safety. Please listen to your community on this one. <3