Username



A Username is the name of a player's character within the world of RuneScape. It uniquely identifies the player's account within Jagex's systems. Players must choose their own username as part of the process of creating an account, and they currently cannot change it at any time afterwards. Any player who is not happy with their account's username can only abandon it and start all over again with a new one. However, Jagex moderators have reportedly hinted that this may change.

The username is the foremost method of recognition between players. Often players may not know what another player's character looks like, especially given that a character's appearance can change - this may be simply via changing their clothes or making more drastic changes such as via the Make-over Mage.

Usernames are also used to identify players on Friends Lists and Ignore Lists. Players can add other people to either of these by right-clicking an entry they have made in the message box, and selecting "Add to Friends" or "Add to Ignore".

Other functions require players to type in someone else's username, and they must do this with absolute accuracy for the function to work. These include when entering another player's house, and when reporting another player for breach of the Rules of RuneScape.



Appropriate usernames
Guidelines from Jagex during the username selection process include:
 * "Usernames can be a maximum of 12 characters long and may contain letters, numbers and underscores... When playing RuneScape, underscores in usernames are translated into spaces and first letters are capitalised.  For example the username red_rooster would appear as Red Rooster."
 * "It should not contain your real name, birth date, or other personally identifiable information, to better protect your identity." Some users choose to spell their real name backwards to form a username; this is certainly not recommended, since it is easy to guess.  Revealing your real name on RuneScape is in breach of the Rule 13 - Asking for Personal Details.
 * "It should not be offensive or break our Terms+Conditions". Usernames are not censored by the chat filter, so it is possible for players to choose a username that is inappropriate.  However, accounts can be banned for having an overtly offensive username.  Players are not warned if they try to create an account with a username that activates the chat filter, and consequently genuine players may find that they cannot say their own (inoffensive) username in-game without at least part of it being censored.  This does not mean that they are in danger of being banned, but simply that the chat filter has detected something as being potentially offensive when it is not.  Members can post on the "Feedback About The Censor" sticky if they wish to bring their specific plight to Jagex's attention.

Sensible usernames
Deciding on a suitable username is more important to some players than to others, and what makes a good username is likewise different for everyone. However, some guidelines may be helpful.

It may be sensible for players to choose a username that appears to be a genuine name, so that other players can address them in a meaningful way. In practice, very few players choose to do this. Those who do may prefer to choose a unisex name, because they can freely change their character's gender in-game, and they may wish to have a name that is appropriate either way.

Some clans prefer members to have a reference to the clan in their names. However, this gives no flexibility for players who later wish to change the name or the activities for their clan, or join a different clan altogether.

Ideas
Many of the more obvious usernames have been taken. Ideas of usernames may come from any of the following:
 * Characters from books, TV series, video games, etc. Since many of these will be taken, combining two names together (with or without a space) may prove useful.
 * Characteristics of what the player expects to be doing. For example, combat-heavy characters may have "pk" (short for player killer) in their name, or reference to the Wilderness. The drawback with this is that the game can change - for example, player-killing and the wilderness changed with the Wilderness Changes, Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars update of the 10 December 2007.  Additionally, players' own goals and interests can evolve.
 * Some usernames may consist of leet to form the names of famous players.

Unique usernames
Ideas for how to enhance a chosen name, in order to make it unique, especially if it is taken, may be necessary. These can include:
 * Adding numbers to the end of the preferred username; some players are satisfied with this, others are not.
 * A prefix that suggests power, such as Lord. Other prefixes derived from Greek, Latin or other languages may be used, including Super, Hyper, Ultra, Omni or Uber.

Username changing
Currently, there is no way that a player can change their username. However, there has been much speculation of Jagex releasing a system to allow this; it is certainly in demand from many players, and there have been many requests on the RuneScape Forums. This has reportedly been acknowledged by Jagex moderators.

Mod Poop-fart is quoted (by another player) as saying in March 2008: "it remains the case that we are lacking a system which can change account names. I understand that this is something which would make a bunch of people happy, and this is why here at Jagex we are investigating all the possibilities.  It is an absolute fact that we are always looking to improve our services for the better. So watch this space!!" Similarly, Mod Craddock has reportedly said: "We also might eventually be introducing a system which allows players to change the name of their account. Watch this space." However, this is difficult to substantiate because the original posts from the moderators have since expired from the forums.

Technical problems that Jagex would need to overcome include the Friends and Ignore Lists, which presumably would need to update automatically, and allow players to see the previous usernames of people on their lists (so that they know who they are talking to). Players may also encounter problems if they change their username, and then try to change it back; someone else may have taken their old name in the meantime, and it might never become available again. If usernames do become changeable, Jagex may also make the usernames of banned accounts available for others to use.

It may follow a similar development pattern to the full screen mode, which was a concept that was started on FunOrb and then applied to RuneScape. The FunOrb game, Dungeon Assault, gave players the ability to change the prefix at the end of their name. This concept may eventually appear in RuneScape, but for the time being it remains on the "Do Not Suggest" list. This list was reviewed on 22 September 2008; some other items were removed, but this was not.

What is verified is that a forum moderator stated in 2008 that username changing will never be possible in RuneScape. The following is quoted verbatim: "Generally when idea is in "do not suggest" list, it means that there's no need for additional input on that particular topic. It does NOT mean that it will never happen.  However, in this case it does mean that. It has been stated(don't remember where though) that it is technically impossible due amount of references all account names have.  I'm certain that sheer amount of such requests, cost included or not, would make the task massive if it was possible."

Of course, a forum moderator may not have the inside knowledge that a Jagex moderator has, and in any case policies may be subject to change.