# is there such a thing as "changing your user ID"? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 16, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228 "2011-07-16T08:29:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/1 "2011-07-16T08:29:47Z")
Let’s say you… oh, I don’t know - you have “a friend” who thought the SDMB was a great place to ask even some of the dumbest questions (yet somehow get “real” answers to them). And suppose that same “friend” thought about throwing in some work-place rants someday, but one day that “friend” heard that some work-peoples were also SDMB-fans. What if that same “friend” had used their real first-name (and real last initial) as their ‘user ID’, and started to get a little paranoid ‘ahead of the curve’? That “friend” has been around forums-ville for a few years now, and knows that ditching an old ID and signing on with a new one is a big no-no. Is there any recourse for that here? (This is all, of course, hypothetical by the way… but you knew that already). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/2 "2011-07-16T08:39:22Z")
If you want to change your screen name, PM **TubaDiva** , and she can work it out. We generally only allow a user to do this once, though, so make sure your new name is one you can live with. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/3 "2011-07-16T09:06:28Z")
On my friends list there was someone called Tahssa. Next thing you know, they were gone and there was someone on there named Drunky Smurf. I blame TubaDiva for the whole thing, although I have no idea what happened. What happened to Tahssa? And who the hell is Drunky Smurf? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/4 "2011-07-16T14:20:50Z")
Actually we used to be more strict about user names, now not so much – we don’t want you changing your user name every week but we do want you to find a name that works for you and settle on it. In rare cases it takes more than one shot but usually the second or third time is the charm. We’re happy to change your name to something your friends/family/coworkers might not find so easily. Please send me an email. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/5 "2011-07-18T13:51:53Z")
Note that if someone quoted you it will be under your old name, so “hiding” under a new name may be an exercise in futility. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/6 "2011-07-18T15:05:02Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > On my friends list there was someone called Tahssa. Next thing you know, they were gone and there was someone on there named Drunky Smurf. I blame TubaDiva for the whole thing, although I have no idea what happened. What happened to Tahssa? And who the hell is Drunky Smurf? Ah yes, I remember Tahssa well. Suck a nice chap. Last I heard he decided to go for a swim with some fishy friends of his. It’s odd though because I haven’t heard from him in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/7 "2011-07-20T14:30:35Z")
**TubaDiva** let me change my user ID a couple of years ago. It was a (mostly) pain-free process. Just be careful where she puts the nozzle. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-changing-your-user-id/589228/8 "2011-07-20T15:54:27Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Ah yes, I remember Tahssa well. Suck a nice chap. _You_ go suck a nice chap. It ain’t my thing.