Why can't we change our names? I don't see a reason why not.

And, no. I'm not being stubborn, I just wanna know.

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers, if you want a new username, make a new account.

Ok thanks.

I still wanna hear from others tho

Mekro wrote:

Ok thanks.

I still wanna hear from others tho

Well here you go; here's a quote from the Scratch Team regarding changing usernames:

Za-Chary wrote:

…
If a user could change his or her username (or even set a certain “nickname”), this could be very confusing for the Scratch community, especially for those following that user. In addition, this would make moderation of the website more difficult because it would be harder for the Scratch Team to keep an eye on what a user may be doing. The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions, such as if the username contained inappropriate content or personal information. Generally the Scratch Team does not change usernames on request (such as for reasons like “I do not like my current username anymore”)
…

(source)

SmithersDidItAgain wrote:

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers

It's actually not that it would cause confusion to the servers, as mentioned by Za-Chary “The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions”, seen in the above post. Username changes are possible. There is actually an underlying numerical ID, which would be the actual identifier, for example, mine is 8832510, which means the username is not fixed to one user account.

awesome-llama wrote:

SmithersDidItAgain wrote:

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers

It's actually not that it would cause confusion to the servers, as mentioned by Za-Chary “The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions”, seen in the above post. Username changes are possible. There is actually an underlying numerical ID, which would be the actual identifier, for example, mine is 8832510, which means the username is not fixed to one user account.

Oh I didn’t know that, so then why CANT we change usernames?

CatsUnited wrote:

Mekro wrote:

Ok thanks.

I still wanna hear from others tho

Well here you go; here's a quote from the Scratch Team regarding changing usernames:

Za-Chary wrote:

…
If a user could change his or her username (or even set a certain “nickname”), this could be very confusing for the Scratch community, especially for those following that user. In addition, this would make moderation of the website more difficult because it would be harder for the Scratch Team to keep an eye on what a user may be doing. The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions, such as if the username contained inappropriate content or personal information. Generally the Scratch Team does not change usernames on request (such as for reasons like “I do not like my current username anymore”)
…

(source)

Cool!

I don't know why, but my reasoning may prove suitable for you.

• You have heard of a famous scratcher. You type in his name… and he's not there! He changed his username!
  You sometimes, when you get bored, type in the name of somebody who you want to see. In my case, @docishi or @Rosyda But you can't find them! They changed their usernames!
  
  • It's a headache for popular scratchers especially, because people know them so well and randomly type their name in the search bar and they are not their.
    And even your followers need to see you!
    
  Vkpatil | Grammar Expert | Bookworm | Forum Questions
  

There is a few reasons why name changing is not allowed:

• Scratchers may get confused cause they change the name to like (Imcool-2020).
  

• The servers could crash very hard due to so many name changes.
  

• It could cause them to be rude with the username.
  

So, new username? Move a account with a new username by making a new account!
Thanks!
ABIGBLUEWORLD 2019-2020 all stuff free to scratch.

awesome-llama wrote:

SmithersDidItAgain wrote:

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers

It's actually not that it would cause confusion to the servers, as mentioned by Za-Chary “The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions”, seen in the above post. Username changes are possible. There is actually an underlying numerical ID, which would be the actual identifier, for example, mine is 8832510, which means the username is not fixed to one user account.

Why don't we each have a tag, similar to discord, and it could show next to our profile.

vkpatil wrote:

I don't know why, but my reasoning may prove suitable for you.

• You have heard of a famous scratcher. You type in his name… and he's not there! He changed his username!
  You sometimes, when you get bored, type in the name of somebody who you want to see. In my case, @docishi or @Rosyda But you can't find them! They changed their usernames!
  
  • It's a headache for popular scratchers especially, because people know them so well and randomly type their name in the search bar and they are not their.
    And even your followers need to see you!
    
    

We could have our pins show on the url instead of our names, and scratch SERIOUSLY needs a feature that lets you search users.

Also, I have moved FIVE TIMES!!

I'm kinda tired and my followers are too

My first acc had 150, my next had 65, then now, i only have 30.

If it confuses the servers, how about us only being able to change our usernames only once every 2 or so months?

MollyandMilodog wrote:

awesome-llama wrote:

SmithersDidItAgain wrote:

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers

It's actually not that it would cause confusion to the servers, as mentioned by Za-Chary “The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions”, seen in the above post. Username changes are possible. There is actually an underlying numerical ID, which would be the actual identifier, for example, mine is 8832510, which means the username is not fixed to one user account.

Oh I didn’t know that, so then why CANT we change usernames?

I don't think the Scratch Team actually changes your username. Instead, they make a new account, delete the old one, and transfer the projects preserving all the extra data (loves, comments, etc.). The Scratch wiki has a quote citing @Paddle2See:

Scratch Wiki wrote:

No. The only way to change your username is to open an entirely new account, but please note that data such as projects, studios, followers, and forum posts will not be transferred. If this feature were added, it could cause confusion about who is whom and lag the servers. If a username reveals personal information or if it causes arguments and Flame Wars, you should contact the Scratch Team about getting it changed. The Scratch Team will then transfer all projects, loves, favorites, and other information to a new account with a different username. Very few usernames have ever been changed.

I'm not positive that the Scratch Team still changes usernames like this though. Also, if you look at an older revision of that page, information was removed which claimed that changing usernames would put stress on the server, citing @thisandagain.

You can try and find the original comments about this, but good luck getting it to load.
Paddle2See: https://scratch.mit.edu/users/Paddle2See/#comments-51377931
thisandagain: https://scratch.mit.edu/users/thisandagain/#comments-30863321

imfh wrote:

I don't think the Scratch Team actually changes your username. Instead, they make a new account, delete the old one, and transfer the projects preserving all the extra data (loves, comments, etc.).

Could it be possible to check whether this happens by comparing IDs? If we know a user who has had a username change, it would be possible to see if their ID makes sense, for example the ID matches the join date that the account claims.

SmithersDidItAgain wrote:

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers, if you want a new username, make a new account.

But when you make a new account you got to choose a username thats NOT taken. It's very hard to do that, knowing that there are thousands of Scratchers.

-Mewing-Mew- wrote:

SmithersDidItAgain wrote:

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers, if you want a new username, make a new account.

But when you make a new account you got to choose a username thats NOT taken. It's very hard to do that, knowing that there are thousands of Scratchers.

The same thing would happen if you could change your username. You'd need to find a username that's not taken.

Mekro wrote:

awesome-llama wrote:

SmithersDidItAgain wrote:

Because it could cause confusion to users and the servers

It's actually not that it would cause confusion to the servers, as mentioned by Za-Chary “The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions”, seen in the above post. Username changes are possible. There is actually an underlying numerical ID, which would be the actual identifier, for example, mine is 8832510, which means the username is not fixed to one user account.

Why don't we each have a tag, similar to discord, and it could show next to our profile.

vkpatil wrote:

I don't know why, but my reasoning may prove suitable for you.

• You have heard of a famous scratcher. You type in his name… and he's not there! He changed his username!
  You sometimes, when you get bored, type in the name of somebody who you want to see. In my case, @docishi or @Rosyda But you can't find them! They changed their usernames!
  
  • It's a headache for popular scratchers especially, because people know them so well and randomly type their name in the search bar and they are not their.
    And even your followers need to see you!
    
    

We could have our pins show on the url instead of our names, and scratch SERIOUSLY needs a feature that lets you search users.

It does work like that, all scratchers have a pin, but changing names would confuse that scratchers followers

i suggest making a new account and then get contact with the scratch team.

VCTHEBEST wrote:

i suggest making a new account and then get contact with the scratch team.

This question has already been thouroughly answered. Please don't necropost