# How can I change my username?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [June 15, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022 "2003-06-15T15:22:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/1 "2003-06-15T15:22:58Z")
I’ve searched the FAQs, and I gather one has to write the mods, but there’s no specific info on it. Help, please? 😕
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### Author:  [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/2 "2003-06-15T15:31:49Z")
You e-mail the lovely **TubaDiva** with a polite request to have your username changed. It is probably wise to put SDMB in the subject line, to distinguish your mail from the gazillions of spam she received daily. Then you sacrifice a bar of quality chocolate, pray to the gods, and send me $ 100.
All right, I’ve heard you can skip the latter part, I mean everything starting from the chocolate (damn those free riders).
Don’t be surprised if you have to wait several days to have it take effect; Tuba is a busy bee. It took a week for my request to be processed (but then, I didn’t sacrifice any chocolate). Then one glorious morning you log on to the SDMB and see in the top right corner, _Welcome back, [name of your choice]._. Top ten moment of your life, that is.
Do you have a new name already? Otherwise **Mangetout** will be over shortly to provide you with suggestions. I like his **Chicken of Bristol**.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/3 "2003-06-15T15:39:18Z")
Thanks, **Tuscalan**. I do have a name in mind, but need to make sure it’s not taken first – I guess I just do a search for that name, eh? Not to worry, I’ve got the quality chocolate ready and waiting. And I’ll ship your virtual $100 to you immediately upon my name change.
I can hardly wait for **Mangetout’s** input. 😃
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/4 "2003-06-15T15:42:06Z")
Uh, even dumber question…how do I find **TubaDiva’s** email addy???
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### Author:  [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/5 "2003-06-15T15:45:17Z")
I’ll eagerly await your virtual $ 100 so I can finally buy me some of those virtual welcome cookies everyone else gets. 😃
I checked my name by doing a search, as you suggested, but I think that might not be foolproof if it were taken by a lurker with 0 posts. Maybe you could have a second choice ready and put that in your mail as well?
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/6 "2003-06-15T15:50:03Z")
I did a search and it told me to do it again with a valid username, thus suggesting to me, at least, that there was nobody by that name. So I guess I’ll find out the hard way.
And duh-hey, I did a search for **Tubadiva** , too. Chalk it up to not enough coffee this morning. Need…more…coffee…
:smack:
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### Author:  [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/7 "2003-06-15T15:50:55Z")
Just saw you put in another one…
The e-mail is in the cheque, uuh, faq, I think. But it is also listed on the [Straight Dope Homepage](http://www.straightdope.com/), for submitting ThreadSpotting and Weird Earls.
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### Author:  [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/8 "2003-06-15T15:55:02Z")
Damn, another simulpost. I don’t think you need more coffee, you post quicker than I do and I’ve been up for seven hours already (being in Europe and all).
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/9 "2003-06-15T16:11:36Z")
Correction - you can e-mail any of the administrators, not just TubaDiva. For name changes, it might not be a bad idea to e-mail all of the administrators - C K Dexter Haven, TubaDiva, Lynn Bodoni, Gaudere, Arnold Winkelried. I will be adding this to the FAQ.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/10 "2003-06-15T20:02:08Z")
Thanks, Arnold. I’ll leave it in TubaDiva’s capable hands right now; no point in duplicating effort.
But I ALWAYS need more coffee. 😃
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### Author:  [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/11 "2003-06-15T21:31:31Z")
Probably a stupid question, but if you change your username, does your registered date / post count reset?
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/12 "2003-06-15T21:42:41Z")
As is customary, I have a suggestion for anyone looking to change their user name, but short of ideas.
(for men) **The Man Under The Ice**
[for ladies) **Flying Viking Kitten**
(unisex) **A Handwashed Turkey**
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### Author:  [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/13 "2003-06-15T23:50:17Z")
**samarm** : I changed my username. My registered date and post count were not affected.
Another way to find if a specific name is in use is described in the thread [:
> [@](#):
>
> Finding the profile for an SDMB poster
>
> Q: How can I look up the profile for an SDMB user, if I don’t know the poster’s userid and can’t find a post by that user?
> A: Use the following URL:
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&username=](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&username=)]([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103503](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=103503))
> After the “username=” include the poster’s SDMB username. Replace spaces in the username with “%20”.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/14 "2003-06-16T04:22:00Z")
Why, thank you, **Mangetout.** This thread wouldn’t have been complete without your input.
I don’t know about Flying Viking Kittens, but I was at a Viking funeral once; does that count?
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/15 "2003-06-16T05:20:37Z")
Ooooo…love the new name. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-change-my-username/182022/16 "2003-06-16T08:19:34Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mama Tiger \*
> \*\*I don’t know about Flying Viking Kittens, but I was at a Viking funeral once; does that count? \*\*
The Flying Viking kittens are a feature at [rathergood.com](http://rathergood.com).
Did you really go to a Viking funeral? - I’d really be interested to hear about it (if you would care to relate the account in a MPSIMS thread perhaps?).