This is in response to the current thread in the WoW Community Council:
Many of the suggestions in that thread are great–specifically being able to add last names for our characters. That said, there may be races or people who don’t want a last name. Being able to have monikers (like "the Bold, or the Just, or Lord of Stormwind) would be great, but we already have titles for that purpose. That said, I still think monikers (in spite of achievements) would be a great way for characters to be able to differentiate themselves. So, in essence, allow for a last name AND a moniker. Or let players just have a first name only with none of that–but allow others to have the same name with those two aforementioned differentiations.
AS for freeing up names–perhaps have a way to add your name to a list for a certain name. For example, set up a command like the following:
/waitlist <character name here>
Every three months, have the system do a character name purge of inactive accounts–accounts that have not been logged into the game for more than six months without an active subscription. Then the first person on the list will have the chance to get the name for say…two weeks, after which it goes to the next person on the list and so on. This allows for people who are really looking for a certain name to be able to have a chance at it without needing to keep checking time and time again.
As for active accounts, I’d say if a character name is just being “held” and a character hasn’t been logged in ever and has remained that way for six months, it should also be considered part of the name purging system. It isn’t fair that people hoard names in the hopes that they’ll get gold for it by trying to sell it within the community.
And lastly, if active account, character lower than level 15, and hasn’t been logged in in over a year, the character should be added to those purged names, as well. This forces name hoarders to actually do something, however small, in order to keep a name they are hoping to sell for in-game gold. It doesn’t stop the problem altogether, but at least it minimizes some of the easier ways hoarding can occur.
With ALL of those additions, this could be a surefire way for people to have the names they want without too much fuss and complaining from the community at large.
But how do we now add people to our friends list?–you may be asking. First, keep the right click ‘Add to Friends’ ability, but make it so that people have the option to accept or reject your offer. Better yet, add an option for someone in the Options tab to reject ALL friend requests–much like we have with guilds and the like. This can help protect people from unwanted stalking or other concerns they might have and be a tool for parents to ensure that their kids are making friends that are parent-approved first.
For those without that option tacked on, create a drop-down list of all people that have that name after you do /friend character name. This way you can pick the one with the right last name or moniker and go from there. Problem solved.
Last, but not least, you can add an option in the Options tab to accept All friend requests–similar to the accepting none of them, with the default being that you have to approve another person’s adding you to their list. This allows for the possible variations of gameplay and ensures that players have agency and choice over who can and can’t contact them or know when they log on, etc.
It might also be nice to have an “Incognito” mode–where you can log on and do things without informing people that you’ve done so–in guilds, friend lists, etc. I imagine there are times when leaders of communities and guilds would rather just have some time to themselves, and this would allow for that.
And I guess that’s it for now! I am ready for the mudslinging and vitriol, GD. Do your worst! grin wink But really, any thoughts and suggestions would be welcome–even if it’s just “nope”.
Quick addendum to this:
There are people who have died and their accounts still remain–a memorial to them by some of their friends and families. Perhaps there could be a way to turn those accounts into Memorial Accounts (so that those names wouldn’t be lost). Maybe a $20 donation kind of thing to keep those names set aside in perpetuity. With maybe…a “Memorium Wall” that can be found on the Blizzard site? I really like this idea, too, as it allows for us to remain a part of the game even after we’re gone.
Anyway…just a thought to keep those names on accounts that aren’t active but are kept for the purposes of memorializing those who are gone alive in that way.
Edited to add the idea for Memorium Accounts and a Memorial Wall kept on the Blizzard site for those who have passed while playing the game of WoW.