Yet another username topic related post

Well I know there are a few tickets about this topic so far, but I also want to give my vision analysing some of the reasons why the Discord team decided to change the Usernames system.

First of all, I want to encourage everyone who reads this post to follow this link to the most voted post and give them an upvote if you agree with me and them: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/14337329256983--Do-NOT-add-The-new-discord-usernames-system 

Now, let's talk about the username topic. I don't think I need to give any kind of context about this so I will go straight to the point.

As most of us agree, the username update is horrible. The only acceptable new feature that makes sense is the "Display name" thing. It's cool to change the way your nickname looks without changing the whole username string. 

Now, Discord has always had this "Username#tag" system which would let everyone use the username they like. This feature is something pretty unique most platforms don't use and which lets every user be comfortable with their name, without being forced to add a ".", a "x", a "_" , or any extra character most people don't like before or after the name.  I'm avoiding the fact that nitro users pay for a functionality that lets them use a tag they like, so it's not random. So let's take a look at the reasons Discord's cofounder had that made him take this decision:

- One reason is that when users are not on Discord, they might not remember the tag or the uppercase/lowercase characters. It seems pretentious to consider this as a reason to change how the username system works. Perhaps the focus should be on reworking the friends system by displaying a list of users with similar names by querying the database, allowing you to choose the correct one when sending a request. Additionally, since the developers assumed the new usernames would be lowercase, they could have also considered the option of querying and finding the right user to see if there exist more users with the same name, different characters. When multiple users have the same username but with different uppercase/lowercase characters, there's no room for error. You can simply ask your friend to specify which one is theirs.

- Another reason they provide to justify this update is that people may mistype the user string due to uppercase and lowercase confusion, leading them to add the wrong person. However, there are other apps like "Notes" or instant messaging apps that allow you to store text or ask your friend for their username and tag. Again, I find it pretentious to label this as a problem.

- Now, let's address the funniest and most nonsensical reason I could have never imagined: "You want to use a common name like Mike or Jane, but there are already 9,999 Mikes or Janes, so you're blocked from using that name altogether.". So we all agree the right solution to this huge problem is lowering the max number of Mikes and Janes from 9,999 to 1. The rest of Mikes and Janes are not Mike and Jane anymore and instead turn into xX_Mike_xX or _Jane._. Frankly, I find this absurd. If you like your username to look like that, it's okay, but I'm pretty sure most people don't. Not to mention that most people wouldn't use their real name. Even if they did, why can't they use it with a unique tag as an identifier while keeping their name the way they want? In summary, the Discord team isn't actually fixing this problem; they are making it worse.

Let's consider an example. Imagine you want your name to be Derek. However, since there are already 9,999 registered Dereks, you can't choose that name. Instead, you have to change your name to Derek1 or add any character that doesn't look blatantly off. What this new "feature" achieves is just to make it more probable for this to happen as each user has a unique username. I think y'all can see the problem and why this makes no sense at all, right?

- The last reason mentioned is confusing "b" with "v". As I mentioned earlier, instant messaging and notes already exist for a reason, and people often specify the correct character when such mistakes might happen. People are not stupid, so let's stop treating them as such.

If you want to review these reasons yourself, you can follow this link: https://discord.com/blog/usernames 

But I'm not finished yet. In the next paragraph, they explain that a survey revealed that 40% of users don't remember their tag or even know what a tag is. Frankly, you don't need to remember a tag when you can simply copy it. Additionally, I don't see a difference between telling your friend that your Discord name is "Robert#1983" or "xRobert89.". Personally, I find the latter even harder to remember and type. I'm mentioning this because it's one of the problems they specified, not because I agree that it's a significant issue.

I would also like to know who participated in the survey since it seems that most users don't agree with the reasons provided. The survey represents a minority (40%) and doesn't accurately reflect the opinions of the entire Discord user base.

To conclude with the reasons they provided, the Discord team claims that most friend requests don't reach the intended recipient. Well, this could be addressed by implementing the solution I suggested at the beginning: querying users with matching usernames and tags. If no users appear in the search results, the user will realize that something is wrong, instead of getting confused because the user doesn't exist. Alternatively, they could present users with choices and allow them to select the correct person from the list.

This is quite disappointing since Discord is an amazing and original app with features like the tag system that set it apart from others. It has been working well for years. I believe this "problem" they suddenly came up with has easier and more user-friendly solutions than the one they chose. Completely overhauling the unique username system, which allows everyone to have their preferred username, is a significant change. It turns one of Discord's unique aspects into another generic usernames system from the past, without any logical reason.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude to those who took the time to read this lengthy post. I also want to clarify that I'm not personally affected by this new feature, and this post is not intended as an angry rant against Discord. My username is original, and I didn't encounter any issues during the update when it came to name changing. I created this post to voice my concerns about an unnecessary update that could potentially frustrate many users. I encourage readers to share their opinions in the comments section, whether they agree or disagree with me, as I'm interested in hearing different perspectives on this topic.

I apologize if this is the 9,999th ticket complaining about this issue. I simply wanted to express my opinion, which differs slightly from others, as I see this update's issues from a different point of view.

Once again, thank you for reading, and I hope you have a great day. Let's hope we can find a way to reverse these changes somehow!

Greetings.