Xbox Live Gamertag Switch Causes Nickname Anguish

Thanks to TeamXbox for its story discussing issues requiring some Xbox Live players to switch their GamerTag name IDs, since, according to Microsoft: "There are many names on the Xbox Live service that are extremely similar to other Gamertags (in most cases differentiated by only a single space.)" Some gamers who have had the same nickname for almost 2 years are understandably upset, though Microsoft is offering "a free game... [and] 1 year subscription to Xbox Live" by way of compensation. An official Microsoft spokesperson on the Xbox.com messageboards indicated: "This problem has nothing to do with the way we code...it's what we need to do to normalize data as we connect to other partners that need to work w/ [Xbox] Live... We are very upset that we had to do this" - some commenters claim (though it's not been specifically stated) that EA's upcoming Xbox Live debut has helped precipitate the name switch.

Shit happens

[Anonymous Coward]

Get over it. Microsoft is giving an appropriate package for the losing party. It's not like they were secretly planning to fuck HaloKing since the incarnation of xbl. Some people can be so unreasonable.

Re:Shit happens

[wheresdrew]

Maybe not HaloKing, but what about the Mech King? [penny-arcade.com]

Who?

[satoshi1]

Who has to change names? Gamers that already have the names? Or the newer gamers that have ones similar to the older ones? Some gamers who have had the same nickname for almost 2 years are understandably upset leads me to believe that the gamers who've had their tags for the longer period of time are the ones getting boned.

Re:Who?

[Snowmit]

Who has to change names? Gamers that already have the names? Or the newer gamers that have ones similar to the older ones? Some gamers who have had the same nickname for almost 2 years are understandably upset leads me to believe that the gamers who've had their tags for the longer period of time are the ones getting boned.

Or it could mean that MasterChief has had his nickname for almost two years +(20 seconds). Suck it up, m4sterche1f.

Re:Who?

[fireduck]

reading the forum postings in the 2nd link, it sounds like both parties with similar name are being forced to change. lots of people complaining about identical names with and without spaces being hit (e.g., fire duck & fireduck); most of the complainers seem to have been beta testers from the beginning of the xbl service. so it's understandable they'd be annoyed.

Re:Who?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I was "boned" by being forced to change a username and then given a free game and a free year's subscription, I can't really say I'd be particularly upset. To be frank, I'll be disappointed if I get home this evening and find they've not asked me to change.

Re:Who?

[bigman2003]

The odd thing to me is....who is having the confusion?

Assuming this is a technical issue, why can't the third parties software tell the difference between Elite_Guy and E1ite_Guy?

Are they printing out the database, and then loading it back in using OCR?

I've never had a database confuse two items because they were similar. Then again, I don't use databases with fuzzy logic, maybe that's my problem.

Madness

[Snowmit]

Anyone else feeling like it's kind of unfair that the people who couldn't find a name more creative than kill3r are now getting FREE LOOT?

LOL LOL

[superpulpsicle]

I am surprised Microsoft didn't go to PS2 online games and make PS2 users change names for a free xbox game.

Who cares if they all have the same name. Give them a freaking unique ID. Hello? Database 101.

Re:LOL LOL

[cassidyc]

which brings us back to unique names, why not use that...

Oh they have! that'll be the Gamertag.

All this is moot anyway, all your friends should now which frag_bastard/fragbastard/fr4g|3astard you are.

Re:LOL LOL

[Daetrin]

which brings us back to unique names, why not use that...
Oh they have! that'll be the Gamertag.

Have you not been paying attention, or are you being intentionaly obtuse?

The problem is that they can not have two people using the same nick because the nick is currently the unique ID. Using unique ID numbers along with nicks, so as to allow people to choose whatever nick they want, does not "bring us back to unique names," because a unique ID has always been required from step one by the nature of the system. The only question is what the unique key should be.

And i hate to tell you this, but in the real world there are people with the _same_name_ who are in fact _different_people_. And we seem to deal with it okay. I may know several Sarahs, but i have no trouble telling them apart. If it ever comes up in conversation and there's the possibility of confusion i can say "Sarah X" or "Sarah who lives in Place_Y" and everyone deals just fine. I expect it would be the same way in XBox Live or any other online system. It seems unlikely that the average person would have too many people on their friends list with the same name. They'd just have to put in the unique ID once when they added them, and that would be that.

If you're confused because the only people who will play with you are frag_bastard, fragbastard, and fr4g|3astard, i expect that's more of a commentary on your personality rather than the feasability of the system.

Re:LOL LOL

[Daetrin]

"I expect it would be the same way in XBox Live"

you need to leave your place and go outside more often.

Huh? I'm not sure what you're trying to imply. I get outside pleanty. Given some of the stories i've heard about Xbox Live, [penny-arcade.com] any mistaken assumptions i make about the average person on it being competent, civil and inteligent is probably based on spending TOO MUCH time outside and not enough time on Xbox Live (or any time for that matter.)

So if you meant to say that backwards, i do spend too much time

Re:LOL LOL

[Anonymous Coward]

And i hate to tell you this, but in the real world there are people with the _same_name_ who are in fact _different_people_. And we seem to deal with it okay. I may know several Sarahs, but i have no trouble telling them apart. If it ever comes up in conversation and there's the possibility of confusion i can say "Sarah X" or "Sarah who lives in Place_Y" and everyone deals just fine.

Except for the fact that I, as a user, need the ability to easily look people up and add them to my friends list on Xbox Li

Re:LOL LOL

[Daetrin]

Except for the fact that I, as a user, need the ability to easily look people up and add them to my friends list on Xbox Live. For that you need a unique user ID. That's the reason why the unique key is the user nick.

You need a unique key for a LOT more than that, that's just the most obvious purpose to the user.

As for easily looking people up, the first time i try to call someone i can't just tell the phone "Sarah Jones" and expect it to figure it out. I need to know a phone number. Once i know that nu

Re:LOL LOL

[cassidyc]

Have you not been reading the words that I type, or are you imagining someother conversation.

I KNOW that all the gamertages are different, that's how the whole thing is meant to work.

Which, if you took the time to read and understand, is EXACTLY what I said. If you have to have a unique, then why not the gamertags, it's is what the gamers identify themselves as, which was the point that I was arguing to the parent posts.

I was also stating that if you are fragbastard then your frieds should know that you

Re:LOL LOL

[Daetrin]

Which, if you took the time to read and understand, is EXACTLY what I said. If you have to have a unique, then why not the gamertags, it's is what the gamers identify themselves as, which was the point that I was arguing to the parent posts.

Because, as quite clearly stated by me and others, using the gamertags as unique IDs leads to conflicts between people who want similar or the same names. The proposed solution was explicitly proposed as a solution to that propblem. Stating that if there are unique IDs

Re:LOL LOL

[Mattintosh]

Actually, you could have users 23098203, 20934865, 94832029, and 12893573 all share the exact same nick. You wouldn't need to differentiate between "FragBastard" and "Frag_Bastard". You wouldn't need to exclude spaces from names, either. Imagine that... you could actually name yourself "Frag Bastard" and not fear the total breakdown of XBox Live's user database when the game puts your name up in lights.

It's called good design, and far too few programmers (yes, even /. geeks) bother with it. It's a "who car

Re:LOL LOL

[cassidyc]

A good design should take into account requirements.

And it would appear that one of the requirements on xbox-live is that everyone should have a unique gamertag. Probably so we can claim bragging rights/fame/notoriety etc. And people do get attached to their nicks

Anyhoo the unique gamertag was sold as one of XBLs features, and unless you work for MS-XBL and can give us an insight, then we don`t know if it is a "design" or a "requirements" issue.

CJC

Re:LOL LOL

[llevity]

Okay, so if they went your route for "good design", and multiple people could safely be named FragBastard, then how the heck do you add your friend FragBastard to your list? How do you know which of the 50 FragBastard names that pop up in return to your search are your friend?

Your "good design" shows a lack of "foresight".

Re:LOL LOL

[king-manic]

Actually, you could have users 23098203, 20934865, 94832029, and 12893573 all share the exact same nick. You wouldn't need to differentiate between "FragBastard" and "Frag_Bastard". You wouldn't need to exclude spaces from names, either. Imagine that... you could actually name yourself "Frag Bastard" and not fear the total breakdown of XBox Live's user database when the game puts your name up in lights.

They don't allow complete duplication. I think the user name is a candidate key, as it is important to o

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Real name

[LordNimon]

My gamer tag is my full, real name, but I've only had it for a few months. I'd be pretty upset if I had to change it, because then I'd have to come up with a nickname.

Re:Real name

[Rethcir]

Is your slashdot name a reference to the Nimon from Doctor Who?

Re:Real name

[LordNimon]

Yes. I got a big kick out Soldeed saying, "Lord Niiiiiiiimon, it is I, Soldeeeeeed!".

Re:Real name

[Rethcir]

Haha.. that's about the point in the series where Tom Baker was just phoning it in.

Re:Real name

[garyok]

What? You've only had a real name for a few months? Did you have a fake one like Phil McCrackin, Claude Bolz, or Bob Zyerunkle? That must be really wierd when you go to the trouble of showing folks your ID and they just take the piss. I can see why you decided to get a real one. Mine real name's done fine for me for 3 decades now.

Be More Creative

[agraupe]

One of the posts on the linked forum was someone called "MasterJedi" or some such. It's cool, but... kinda boring and uncreative. No one will steal a creative nickname, in my experience. For example, in City of Heroes, I have seen: Sp1d3rM@n, Hulk/, hulk2, Tick, Tick returns Get my point? On the other end of the spectrum, my friend called his hero Taraxippos. No one's gonna steal that!

Kill the numbered nicks too

[mattgreen]

While they're at it they should ban anyone with numbers on the end of their name. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT YOUR AOL SCREEN NAME ON EVERYTHING THAT IS LABELED "NAME" FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

Sorry, I just see someone with a name like DreadNagoigth2819 and wonder, "gee, i'm sure there are 2819 other DreadNagoigth's out there and he just got the next one!" Plus, who can remember that they were gaming with Mike29182381 when Mike394812 messages them asking for cyber at 2am?