Review [Issue 36] What makes a i3rilliant username?

[Remaine 4,687]

 

Greetings, readers. As we all know, a username is very important in a game; it's generally what we're going to be referred to as for the duration of, if not all of our gaming lives. I've personally gone through a few name changes myself, due to the need for change, and simply put, a certain perception of one of the names that I never thought about initially. My contemporary name appears to be the favourite (which personally, I fail to understand - perhaps due to the many many many puns that come from it?) whilst other names that I've had have were more controversial. Upon seeing this, it illustrated to me just what different attributes there are that people look for when choosing a name. That's what this article is about - exposing these attributes for what they are, why they're deemed as important to some, and how they, if applicable, correlate or conflict with other attributes. I've got some ideas of my own here, but definitely feel free to comment on what you think about when deciding on a good username.

 

 

If you do not understand what I mean by short-form, I'm referring to when your username is shrunk into a way that ends up being easier to type. For example, my username is Remaine, and it is commonly shortened to Rem. It's really not difficult to have a nickname with a short-form, which means you will see very few people referred to with their full usernames. Why is that important though? It establishes a connection between people, especially if your short-form just so happens to be dubbed by some of your mates. At the same time, this can do the opposite - bonds can be broken if the name is derogatory, and let's face it, it isn't exactly an uncommon occurence. However, short-forms still are important as it carries major importance for one's own identity and as identifiers in social situations.

 

 

Needless to say, the length of our names vary from person to person - some of our usernames are short and sweet, a few are long and complicated, whilst others are balanced between both sides of the spectrum. The long and complicated names tend to be more original - a larger number of characters provides more scope for meaning. At the same time, the originality in the name also increases due to there being a lower chance of two users having similar ideas. This isn't to say short and sweet names cannot be original - just that the scope provided by a larger amount of characters generally makes for more originality. These longer names tend to be harder to short-form, however. Short and sweet names are easier to remember, type and spell - ideals which are more important than meet the eye. There is no definitive conclusion in the number of characters required for a name to be long nor the number of characters required for a name to be short - it's all down to the perception of the beholder. I personally prefer a name with a balance between the two, as you're not compromising on their separate traits too much.

 

 

Let's think about it from a practical point of view - if your name isn't original, the chances of your name even being available decrease substantially, which means you won't be able to use your desired alias in every single online website, and it provides the hindrance of you having to think of another name to use, which can lead to a perpetual cycle. Granted, it isn't always easy to find a name which not only fits the bill in regards to its originality, but is also one you're personally fond of. The common solution is to conjure up a name that revolves around you in particular - every person is unique, and these names consist of discernible traits that person has, for example, height (Fen), traits in personality or the year you were born. Other solutions involve slapping a bunch of unpopular words together and hoping for the best, or merging words together, which can result in some interesting almagamations. Not only does it help you stick out from the crowd, which in turn makes your name more memorable - that's fairly obvious - just that it also means your name has a higher chance of being available, which means it's more convenient.

 

 

On the other side of the coin, we have trends. In this game, common trends include I.(word/s), I3 which, if you didn't figure it out, is an attempt at portraying the letter B using a capitalised I and the number 3, and the TT PROTEST trend although that's more affiliated with the Russians. TT = P in Russian letters. Another common trend is the Mr and Mrs trend, which is an attempt at illustrating a close bond between a male player and a female player (probably, in any case). Naturally, being on the other side of the spectrum, this completely conflicts with the originality in a name. The idea of conforming to a trend in general is controversial in itself - on one hand, you can say that it means you're being a follower, not a leader, especially if you had what was perceived as an original name beforehand. On the other hand, you can say that, simply put, because you like concept of the trend, you decided to take part in it. Once again, it all comes down to perception. It can be something that brings a specific group of friends together, as opposed to being something for everyone to follow (such as , and ). Is a trend important, as such? To me, not really - you do not need a name to exemplify the close bonds between a group of friends. However, I won't refute that it's a nice touch. Bear in mind that, chances are, there was no attempt at starting a trend to begin with when the trendsetter conducted the name change - it's something that just happened as time went on. Quite uncanny, if you ask me.

 

 

What does your username MEAN to YOU? In my case, Remaine is my real life name - even though it's as basic as that, it still holds a lot of meaning to me, naturally. I feel it can link to originality in the sense that names that hold more meaning to a user tend to be more original, given that names are more thought-out and more specific to that person in particular. It doesn't need to be incredibly spiritual, but I do believe a name of yours should hold some meaning to you, even if it's a trend or a reference. Something personal should be in the mix. I was looking at this thread on the forum and I stumbled upon a post that mentioned how they like a name that makes you think things - I use they; simply due to the fact I cannot remember the person that said it, and cannot find the post. It appears they've retracted it. Although it didn't use the best example, it was referring to ambiguity and how the vividity of a person's imagination can affect the overall perception of a name. This doesn't mean to say that the more vivid one's imagination is, the better the overall perception - more that the ideas conjured up by that imagination are more out-there, if you will. Credit to the person that said that - I find it's a pretty interesting point.

 

 

First of all, I'm going to define a reference - this is so we do not confuse it with anything else that may seem similar. A reference is an act of mentioning something in speech and/or writing. In order to articulate my point clearly, I am going to use examples. I will use - there's a reference to Harry Potter in this name. It can either increase or decrease originality, but that's completely contingent to how the reference is displayed. A reference in default terms decreases originality - however, a clever tweak on an otherwise default reference can increase originality, for example, @VoldemortsNose - which just also happens to be a reference to Harry Potter. Not only do clever tweaks alter the originality, but they can also alter the meaning. Let's take a look at the examples we have used here - @VoldemortsNose is paradoxical given that the actual Voldemort doesn't have a nose. Our plain-termed reference has a plain meaning and doesn't have much ambiguity to it, at least, not from my perspective. Is a reference important? This is more circumstantial to the importance of that reference to the user, which links to meaning in a sense. The importance of a reference will not be the same for everyone. 

 

 

Finally, what I've been going on about throughout the entirety of this article is perception. It's the way you think or understand about someone/something. Ultimately, our differing perceptions result in differing usernames. It's perception that decides how long our username is, the feelings toward following trends, the importance of particular references, and the meaning of names. In essence, it's the foundation of our usernames - how we perceive certain factors combine into the decision of what our username's going to be. Without a doubt, perception is the most important of the lot.

 

---

 

That's it from me - I hope this article provided an insight into some of the factors that make a @I3rilliant username. Try to think about what attributes you personally think your name has. See you around.

 

Edited March 4, 2018 by Flexoo

[ShyamNishanthMK 189]

o.0 Harjeev,Shadowtemplar and Lewis becoming famous now. lol :lol:

[Remaine 4,687]

^ The I.EatMyBullets group are another example. (Ayboub, tanki101, xplosive, and so on)

Edited June 26, 2015 by Remaine

[TankDestroyer890 135]

Something that fits in the battle like destroyed @rambobear11

[tomatenpuree 183]

tomatenpuree rocks :wub:

[Cor7y 13,862]

OK, I just realised I'm included, why didn't you PM this draft to me before I changed my name so I could have changed it to something that fits your criteria.  ^_^

I go change name again :P

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Maf 32,300]

King nicknames have 3 numbers in the end, ok

 

Everyone else - peasants

[Zakintosh 39]

King nicknames have 3 numbers in the end, ok

 

Everyone else - peasants

That remaines the question...

[tanker538N 394]

My name pro ok

just kidding ok

[Phoenix-Warbird 1,329]

 

 

 

 I was looking at this thread on the forum and I stumbled upon a post that mentioned how they like a name that makes you think things - I use they; simply due to the fact I cannot remember the person that said it, and cannot find the post. It appears they've retracted it. Although it didn't use the best example, it was referring to ambiguity and how the vividity of a person's imagination can affect the overall perception of a name. This doesn't mean to say that the more vivid one's imagination is, the better the overall perception - more that the ideas conjured up by that imagination are more out-there, if you will. Credit to the person that said that - I find it's a pretty interesting point.

TY (bow)... just re-posted what I originally said, since I removed it just the other day... didn't know it would end up being relevant

 

totally agree with your article ^_^ btw, @Remaine is an epic name

Edited June 26, 2015 by Phoenix-Warbird

[Remaine 4,687]

^ Nice to see confirmation - when writing this, I did have a feeling you were the person that wrote it, but could not include it, since I felt solid proof was required for it to be credible.

[MA_G_I_C 45]

Nice article 'Rem'  :D

 

I was thinking of chaging my name to B_L_A_C_K_M_A_G_I_C What are people's opimions on that? ;)

 

[TankDestroyer890 135]

Nice article 'Rem'  :D

 

I was thinking of chaging my name to B_L_A_C_K_M_A_G_I_C What are people's opimions on that? ;)

that is stupid to do now people will take that name from you

[Reeco9 1,567]

Nice work.

 

 

 

 

 

simply put, a certain perception of one of the names that I never thought about initially.

 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

 

 

[I3loodShot 3,119]

King nicknames have 3 numbers in the end, ok

 

Everyone else - peasants

yes

[MA_G_I_C 45]

that is stupid to do now people will take that name from you

I've reserved the name :)

[I3rilliant 503]

Hi.

[MA_G_I_C 45]

Hi.

IHey... I've heard that you are very D.E.F.I.A.N.T :lol:

[anuclearbomb 220]

aww man now i really miss my old acc...(nobodygood)

great article looking forward to more stuff like this

[BlazingCoder 108]

Great Article.

[Penguin40 1,714]

Good job. (the name of the article gave me an idea of a future nickname)

[Remaine 4,687]

King nicknames have 3 numbers in the end, ok

 

Everyone else - peasants

You're no longer in this clique.

[trollface.jpg 538]

You forgot my name :(

[hogree 4,179]

King nicknames have 3 numbers in the end, ok

 

Everyone else - peasants

[Truthteller 4,204]

Lol ikr  :lol: