Discord Is Making Users Change Their Names
Discord will require users to update their usernames on a first-come first-serve basis.
Discord is soon going to force its users to change their usernames on the platform, doing away with four-digit username discriminators. The communication software has been stealing headlines recently as someone used the private Minecraft discord servers to post classified US documents, after which Russian agents used the very same communication means to spread propaganda and false information.
According to Kotaku, Discord is taking away the four-digit username discriminator, which was previously used to differentiate users with the same username. The company will now assume the naming approach used by other social media such as Twitter, so instead of having a four-number discriminator in their username, all users will have to choose a unique alphanumeric username with the “@” symbol in front of it. In the case of two users having the same username but different discriminators, well, first-come-first-served.
However, Discord users will also get to choose a non-unique display name that includes special characters, spaces, and emoji, as well as non-Latin characters for Eastern countries. This change makes Discord more akin to social media than a gaming platform, and it will be implemented in segments over the next couple of weeks.
Everyone on Discord will have to select a new username. But why would the company do something like this, especially since numerical discriminators did their job flawlessly?
Well, Discord grew in popularity in recent years, especially after it was integrated into gaming services offered by Xbox and PlayStation, and while the numerical discriminators allowed users to choose their favorite username, the discriminators became a “technical debt” of sorts, as they only delayed the problem that would eventually re-surface—the lack of discriminators in a growing user base. Not only that, but those numerical appendages only made it harder to memorize your username when sharing it with your online friends.
And while the upcoming change to Discord doesn’t actually offer any benefits to the players, only a hassle in having to select a new username, the co-founder of Discord has recognized that this is a big change to the platform and that it’s entirely possible that the process doesn’t go as smoothly as anticipated. However, we have very little doubt that the company will do anything to smooth things out as soon as possible, given the amount of public attention it has received due to all the classified information being leaked through its services.
There is a major drawback here. A Discord spokesperson stated that the company would prioritize older users, so those who joined Discord first have the first pick of a new username. And that’s precisely the point because there are those who would undoubtedly try and copy popular streamers and gamers by camping on their username.
Gaming services favor streamers, and those who have their usernames stolen will have the right to appeal and have their username restored. But as we pointed out, this is a major hassle for streamers.
