valid Search bar at the ratings site brings a list of search results

[Okami 3,041]

I find ratings.tankionline.com to be a very interesting place. It has a lot of information on every account, as well as leaderboards, which I find fun to look at.

I got this idea from when I tried to look up a username, but the person had changed their name and I don't know what they changed it to.

That's why I'm bringing up this idea: a list of search results when you enter a username.

This system of search results wouldn't replace the main profile. The username, rank, position in weekly ratings, and current tank would be kept from the profile, but all other details wouldn't be shown.

What would a search query bring?

Searching a username would bring up search results in the following order:

• The account which has that name currently.
• Active accounts with that same name, but are put in the r_ naming system.
• Inactive accounts with that same name, but are put in the r_ naming system.
• Active accounts which used to have that name, but changed to something else.
• Inactive accounts which used to have that name, but changed to something else.
• Very similar names.

In the sample image, you probably noticed that there's a "Previous usernames" thing. That will be in the list of search results, and in the main profile, which can be accessed by clicking on the username.

[Maf 32,300]

Valid

[Okami 3,041]

Now that a reworked, built-in rating/profile system is planned for the game, I'm going to revive this thread with a few tweaks to the original idea.

Accessible username history

Many players have made a LOT of name changes, and a list like "Previous usernames: Name 1, Name 2, Name 3, Name 4, Name 5, Name 6, etc." like I suggested in the OP would be way too long.
Instead, there should be a little icon next to a player's name in both the actual profile, and also this box. Hovering your cursor over it would say something like "View username history", and clicking on the icon would show a list of the player's previous usernames, as well as the ranks in which they had those usernames. Maybe it could be formatted like this:

Spoiler

Username History
[Legend icon] - present: [example 1]

[Legend icon] - [Legend icon]: [example 2]
[Colonel icon] - [Legend icon]: [example 3]
[Recruit icon] - [Colonel icon]: [example 4]

^ As you can see, the rank icon would still be displayed twice, even if the player has changed their username twice without ranking up (or as a Legend)

Notes: 
- The icon can only be interacted with in the profile. Hovering your mouse over it or clicking it wouldn't do anything in the basic box that appears when you click on someone's username.
- I'm not sure what the little "View username history" icon would look like yet. That's for the devs to decide what would look best in the new interface.

Multiple search features

Currently, the search feature only shows you the player who is the current owner of a certain username. That can leave a lot of open-ended questions, especially with how mobile users get a free name change from user_######### to whatever they want.

My idea is that there should be more than one search method in the search page, this could be achieved by having a drop-down box next to the search bar which gives the user one of two options. The first option (also the default one) will work like the profiles currently do, meaning that it'll take you to whoever has that username right at that moment. The second option would bring a list of players who USED to have that name but ended up changing it, either with a Rename Pass or by simply going inactive. Accounts that paid to change their username would appear first in the list, and then players who are inactive would make up the last results.

[Newnewnew 92]

I really like this suggestion. Perhaps also adding a way where the search provides the closest matching options of a username when searched? Sometimes I cant get the username exactly correct and I think that would be really helpful if they added some sort of username suggestion in the search. 

[B.A.B.I 643]

Wish they incorporated the tank viewer in the Ratings page again.. but with the funky HTML stuff, i really liked looking at tanker's tanks..