For some time I have been disgruntled that my username within the hallowed halls of the wordpress servers has been “jb73”. This might not matter to some, but when you appear as “jonbeckett” almost everywhere else, it tends to grate somewhat.
This evening I began exploring my options - and enquired with WordPress support what might be done to remedy the situation. After several emails back and forth, an impass has been reached.
I can’t have the username “jonbeckett” because a blog exists with that name.
I own the blog “jonbeckett.wordpress.com”
I can’t change the name of the blog.
No creative method of creating new users and/or blogs will work - mainly because WordPress don’t really delete things; they just mark them as deleted (it’s a common problem, and comes down to database relational integrity issues).
So I’m stuck being “jb73” behind the scenes. Sure, I can change my display name, but the URL is going to have “jb73” in it. Consulting the support staff has thus far been exactly like the amplifier scene from “This Is Spinal Tap”.
Knee jerk reactions are probably not the best to act upon, therefore I will be doing nothing any time soon, but I can’t say I’m happy. I know damn well that various professional broadcasters and journalists have had accounts at numerous websites changed (typically to re-claim their own name from squatters).
It would appear that even at WordPress - where they often strive to do “the right thing” (witness: the WordPress Foundation), there is still a divide between users of the service; some appear to be more equal than others.