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.

Up until 24 hours of the update, the Jagex display name server was being overloaded and made it very difficult to access the website, let alone change your name. This is because so many players were trying to access the service, the server couldn'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, and replace it with a temporary name (a random set of numbers) the player will be forced to change the name before being able to log in. If a user repeatedly chooses offensive names, they will not have the ability to change their name for one year and will be assigned one by a Jagex game moderator.

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, depending on the time the original name was held, so that they may revert to their old name if they wish. Once these days have passed the old username will be gone forever and can be taken by others.



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 will not capitalise the name and underscores are not replaced with spaces as they are in usernames. You may also use dashes (-) in your Display name.
 * 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.
 * Display Names are used for almost everything, such as entering player-owned houses, clan chats, etc.
 * A player may enter the previous display name of a player to enter such places, provided the time limit for reclaiming the name has not expired.

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.

It is also to popular knowledge, due to a thread that stated that an update was not due on the week of release, that the update was accidental. Ironically, later that day, all players found themselves randomly disconnected from RuneScape on all worlds which could suggest that the last resort solution for Jagex had failed. This then forced Jagex into an early release of the subject.

Trivia

 * On the release of this update, an old bug made a re-appearance. Players could add themselves to their friends list once again. This was able to be done by adding your original name to your friends list after you had changed your display name. Your name would be deleted from your list once you logged off, and thus you would have to re-add it.
 * There is also a glitch in which you can add yourself or your old name to your ignore list, and not see any of your chat in public chat and clan chat.
 * A glitch can occur upon attempting to add someone to your friends list while they are changing their name. If this occurs, a message stating "Unable to add friend - unknown player." will appear.