Name Reservation Changes

Sounds like what needs to be done then, is have Paragon Studios spam those inactive accounts with emails saying "If you're not going to login anymore, please login to delete your characters and free up the names for active users"

This thread is even more like a particularly stupid dog interminably chasing its own tail than most, so I'll sum up and sign off.


Regarding character names, embracing the status quo leads has no down side.

Nobody really cares about "taken names". Names are largely a "black box"- other than devs, nobody knows what names belong to what account, active or inactive.

No player, not even the ones screaming about the tyranny of the evil name-squatters, will hurl their toys at the wall and stomp off because they didn't get a first choice name. They'll come up with another name they like and continue playing.

Meanwhile purging names will definitely antagonize returning customers to zero benefit.

And that's a bad idea, however you feel about the rights of inactive vs current accounts.

An invisible, intangible benefit you get no credit for vs. a concrete harm visited on potential future customers is no contest.

All that and you missed the point of what I said completely.

My *point* is going more toward the people complaining (or otherwise "assured") that their oh so must have name would be freed by doing this.

My *point* is that the number of people who do know there's a name with no global they want have got to be *miniscule.* And that everyone else who makes this complaint is *guessing.*

Unless, of course, they know the player personally, in which case they can ask them to go through the whole "get in touch with CS, reset your PW, log in and delete the character" instead of making threads complaining.

I am *not,* and never *have* said they need to know "where the name comes from."

I *am* saying "currently active players looking for a name they want" - who ASSUME this sort of thing, regardless of parameters, will free up the name they *have* to have - are *assuming* in most cases, and that's not something to base an action or even suggestion like this on.



Mind you, I agree that if a name is *blocked* the player should be told instead of given the generic message they get now, and that banned accounts - after a reasonable appeal period (60 days max to start the process) should get purged.

See my Guides and Tutorials

I've tried to look through the fifteen pages of this thread before replying; if someone has indeed already voiced what I'm about to say, my apologies.

For the most part, I think our system works very well, even eight years later. In fact, the only change I'd make would be to free up names held by banned accounts.

I would also caution some of the people calling for less restrictive policies for names. Regardless of how long a player has been gone, most of them put serious time, effort and love into their characters, and having their names poached while they were gone would be very upsetting not just to them but also to those of us who knew and played with them. In the case of level 50s, the names should be inviolate. Those characters have earned recognition, and honoring their names as such seems very appropriate.