# Do only Charter Members get Halloween names? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 23, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064 "2013-10-23T22:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/1 "2013-10-23T22:30:42Z")
Question in subject. I can’t be Abominable Barbarian for the duration? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/2 "2013-10-23T22:33:25Z")
What’s a Halloween name? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/3 "2013-10-23T22:36:05Z")
Never mind. I must be leaking braaaaainnnns… ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/4 "2013-10-23T22:42:26Z")
I got one last year, and I don’t think I was even a member then. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/5 "2013-10-23T22:49:54Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Never mind. I must be leaking braaaaainnnns… Ooh. Sounds tasty! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/6 "2013-10-23T23:39:36Z")
I don’t know how much clearer we can be about this. There are none of these so-called “Halloween names”. A pack of mutant hamsters _did not_ escape from SDMB Server Central. There _is not_ a zombie outbreak which is currently threatening to infect the majority of users on this board. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/7 "2013-10-24T00:21:03Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > … > There _is not_ a zombie outbreak which is currently threatening to infect the majority of users on this board. Or the majority of threads? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/8 "2013-10-24T00:28:00Z")
I’m going to be a party-pooper. I _really_ don’t like this changing usernames thing. If it could be confined to the Halloween forum, that would be one thing, but it’s playing hell with my sense of whose post I’m reading. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/9 "2013-10-24T00:30:51Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’m going to be a party-pooper. I _really_ don’t like this changing usernames thing. If it could be confined to the Halloween forum, that would be one thing, but it’s playing hell with my sense of whose post I’m reading. What if you get to post as “Frankenfurter”? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/10 "2013-10-24T00:31:17Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > I don’t know how much clearer we can be about this. > > There are none of these so-called “Halloween names”. > A pack of mutant hamsters _did not_ escape from SDMB Server Central. > There _is not_ a zombie outbreak which is currently threatening to infect the majority of users on this board. Ranrrrr!!! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/11 "2013-10-24T00:35:37Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’m going to be a party-pooper. I _really_ don’t like this changing usernames thing. If it could be confined to the Halloween forum, that would be one thing, but it’s playing hell with my sense of whose post I’m reading. > [@Gagundathar](#): > > What if you get to post as “Frankenfurter”? One of us, one of us, gooble gobble, one of us! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4uTEEOJlM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4uTEEOJlM) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/12 "2013-10-24T00:40:23Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’m going to be a party-pooper. I _really_ don’t like this changing usernames thing. If it could be confined to the Halloween forum, that would be one thing, but it’s playing hell with my sense of whose post I’m reading. It’s cute when SDMB posters act like they’re real. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/13 "2013-10-24T00:41:18Z")
If there were some sort of mechanism to change your user name for a few days and if these were the days leading up to Samhain, then I might consider Goblin-Dathar. But since no such mechanism exists, this is merely hypothetical and really not even worthy of posting. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/14 "2013-10-24T00:56:34Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > If there were some sort of mechanism to change your user name for a few days and if these were the days leading up to Samhain, then I might consider Goblin-Dathar. > But since no such mechanism exists, this is merely hypothetical and really not even worthy of posting. But, are you…sure? Really sure? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/15 "2013-10-24T01:11:48Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > If there were some sort of mechanism to change your user name for a few days and if these were the days leading up to Samhain, then I might consider Goblin-Dathar. > But since no such mechanism exists, this is merely hypothetical and really not even worthy of posting. I think my life would be a shambles if my name was changed. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/16 "2013-10-24T01:12:11Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > One of us, one of us, gooble gobble, one of us! > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4uTEEOJlM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4uTEEOJlM) That’s from that kid’s show right? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/17 "2013-10-24T01:13:01Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I think my life would be a shambles if my name was changed. Oh come on, you could be **punner rat**. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/18 "2013-10-24T01:16:39Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Oh come on, you could be **punner rat**. Runner… shambler…shambles… ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/19 "2013-10-24T01:49:49Z")
I feel it would be sinister if anyone were to change my name. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064/20 "2013-10-24T01:53:00Z")
Boo!nilou would be just a weak, weak pun. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-only-charter-members-get-halloween-names/672064.md?page=2)