Character name

Display names are the alternative name for a player's avatar that is displayed on all website features, including the game, on the forums and in the hiscores. It is different to the player's username, which is used to log into these features - this cannot be changed.

As of October 1, members of either RuneScape or FunOrb are able to change their display name to something different from their username. This display name is the name which other players will see and know an account. A player's username will always remain the same, regardless of any changes made to the display name. To log into any website features (including the game), a user must enter their username, not their display name. Everyone’s initial display name is the same as their username.

Currently the Jagex display name server is being overloaded and it is very difficult to access the website, let alone change your name. This is because so many players are trying to access the service, the server can't handle it all.

Changing your display name
The ability to change display names is currently only available to members of either RuneScape or FunOrb. To change a display name, a player must visit the Account Management section of the RuneScape or FunOrb website and select 'Change your display name'. They can then change choose a new display name for their character.



Limitations
There are certain restrictions on which display names may be chosen for a character. These are:


 * It may not be a display name currently used by another account.
 * It may not be a display name that is being held (see next section).
 * It must not be deemed offensive or deceptive.
 * The user must not have changed their name within 28 days.
 * It cannot exceed 12 characters. However, this may be changed in the future.

If a display name is seen to be offensive or deceptive, Jagex can remove the name, forcing the player to change the name before being able to log in. If a user repeatedly chooses offensive names, they will have the ability to change their name removed for one year and will be assigned one by Jagex.

Held names
Once a user has chosen a new username, their old one will be held for an amount of time. The name will be held for the 28 days in which the user may not change their name, then at least 7 days after that, so that they may revert to their old

name if they wish. The longer an account has had a display name, the longer the name is held for the account.

When a player changes their display name, a little icon will appear to the right of the name on the Friends list of any player who has them added as a friend. By hovering their cursor over the icon, players can see the old name of an account, so as to avoid any confusion. A similar update has not been made for the Clan Chat.

Other information
A few other things can also be said about the new display names:


 * Display Names are case sensitive. It won't capitalise the name and underscores are not replaced with spaces as they are in usernames.
 * There is no way to swap names between accounts; Jagex wanted to discourage the possibility of 'name selling' by making it hard to transfer a name.

Prior to release
The display names updates was known about by players for a long time prior to the release. A Developer's Blog was published on August 27 by Mod Duncan.

Display Name change was leaked before the announcement was even made. Many players already changed their names before it was released.

Trivia

 * On the release of this update, an old bug made a re-appearance. Players could add themselves to their friends list
 * once again.
 * Players can also add their old name to their ignore list and this will act like the player is muted.
 * There is also a glitch in which you can add yourself to your ignore list, and not see any of your chat in public chat and clan chat.