Display names/FAQ

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Important: Display Names isn't out for public testing, so while you can't actually try it for yourself yet, Linden Lab has made this information available to prepare you. Stay tuned.

What's Display Names all about? Read Jack Linden's announcement post.

This video shows you in 5 fun minutes.

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Then, read on to learn more...

Suggestions to make this FAQ awesomer? Let Torley know, this is a live document. Lots of feedback is currently being researched, some details are tentative and will be updated as-needed.

General

Why is Linden Lab introducing the Display Name feature now?

Growing the SL Resident-base is a business objective that we're deeply committed to and we hope that you'll also benefit from that growth. We're also exploring ways to attract new Residents by making their registration and first-hour experiences in Second Life more compelling. We have long known that selecting a Second Life name is one of the biggest hurdles in the new Resident registration process; it is a common reason why potential new Residents abandon registration and it has consistently received very low ratings in new Resident surveys. The freedom to choose an avatar name in Second Life is something that many Residents have been wanting for a long time and it took some time to develop a feature that gave you as much flexibility as possible. This feature is an important step on our social media strategy that will ultimately allow you to connect your inworld identity to other social networks, on an opt-in basis. Again, Display Names and eventually, the connection to social networks, is all about choice.

As a current Resident, what will my username be?

Your username will automatically be formed from your existing avatar name in the form of your current Second Life firstname.lastname. For example, if your avatar name is John Smith, then your username will be lowercase and display as john.smith. However, you can still log in with "first name space last name" to both the Viewer and websites, e.g., John Smith. In addition, your name will display exactly as it has, e.g., John Smith until you set a Display Name.

Tip: Concerned about how this will affect scripts? Learn more.

When will Display Names be available in open beta/project release?

In a few weeks (from 2010-08-17), Display Names will be available on the test grid, called Aditi, as a project release for Residents to test. We will thoroughly test this feature before releasing it into general availability and placing it into the new Resident registration process.

What's going to happen if I'm using another Second Life Viewer other than Viewer 2 (Release 2.1.x)?

Display Names will be managed and will be visible in an upcoming release of Viewer 2 (exact version to be announced). In any previous official viewer, Display Names will not be configurable or visible. Display Names will vary when using third-party viewers, as it will depend on which choose to integrate the Display Name functionality. For current Residents who don't set their Display Names, their names will appear exactly the same way that they do now.

Viewers which have not integrated Display Name functionality will continue to display existing names exactly the same way. New usernames without a last name will be displayed in those viewers with the last name "Resident", e.g., "jane123 Resident".

How will Display Names be implemented for new Residents, after the feature is generally available?

Eventually, when new Residents join Second Life, they will choose a unique username at registration, and don't need to pick a mandatory last name as the system has historically required. Let's say someone joins Second Life and chooses the username of johnsmith123, assuming that no one else in Second Life has that username. Then, when he logs in, his username will continue to be johnsmith123, and his Display Name will default to johnsmith123. Of course, he is then welcome to change his Display Name immediately in the My Profile sidebar tab of Viewer 2.

As mentioned elsewhere in this FAQ, under certain conditions for backwards compatibility (like unsupported viewers and scripting calls), all these new accounts will show a "last name" of "Resident".

Is there a character limit for usernames or Display Names? And, can one of those characters be a space?

A username is an ASCII (alphanumeric) string with no spaces and has a 31 character maximum. Display Names can have spaces and are limited to 31 characters (spaces count). You cannot use spaces in your username, but you can in your Display Name.

How will Display Names support Unicode characters?

Using Display Names, you can use the standard Unicode character set including Latin, Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Northern European. This is a huge benefit to our international Residents who have asked for this for a long time.

Display Names supports letterforms, ideographs, and writing conventions used for names from most cultures. Specifically:

• All Unicode letters & letter modifiers (includes Asian syllables and ideographs).
• Numbers (digits only).
• Some punctuation (apostrophe, hyphen, period, and a few similar in other scripts).
• Spaces (but you can't make a Display Name entirely out of spaces).

Graphical characters not commonly used for names, like the infamous ☃ (Unicode Snowman), aren't supported.

Where else will my Display Name be shown, aside from above my avatar's head?

Your Display Name will be shown in various places including during transactions, in Friends lists, the CHOOSE RESIDENT window (also used when reporting abuse), and in chat. It is what other avatars will refer to you as inworld. So, choose wisely.

Where are usernames shown?

Display Names will be shown by default, but usernames will be extremely accessible, and often immediately viewable, as detailed in other parts of this FAQ. For example, watch this video to see the following in action:

• You can show usernames in name tags via an easy Preferences option.
• Inspectors show usernames by hovering your cursor. Inspectors are used in multiple places, including when hovering over an avatar, in Nearby Chat and Conversations, and more.
• Hovering over a friend's name in the People sidebar tab > My Friends tab shows their username.
• Display Names and usernames are shown side-by-side in the build tools, Choose Resident window, About Land, estate access lists, and many others.
• Still not accessible enough? There's an option to hide Display Names, or in other words, show "full names" the soon-to-be "old way".

You'll of course understand directly when you try Display Names firsthand, so hang tight!

Will you limit the number of people who use a particular Display Name?

No, because you can use username to uniquely identify individual avatars. There can be many Residents using John Smith as their Display Name, but you can discover which is which by looking at their username — for example, in their profile.

Which name will be used in local, private, and group chats?

You will mostly see Display Names but where it makes sense we will also provide the username as well. For example, profiles will show both. Local chat will show the Display Name and you can view a username when clicking on the Display Name. Instant messages will show Display Name and the username in the window title bar. For group chat, Display Name will be seen with the username in the participants list.

Will usernames or Display Names be shown on my Friends list of Viewer 2?

Display Names will be visible in your Friends list because that's your friend's avatar's chosen name. Usernames are visible when you mouse over a Display Name. This is also true when hovering over a Display Name in other windows like CONVERSATIONS, including group chat.

Will we now use usernames to log in to official SL-related sites like secondlife.com, wiki.secondlife.com, and jira.secondlife.com?

Yes, you will but you may still log in with "first name space last name", e.g., John Smith. It will take some time for us to roll out these changes before you can also use john.smith to log in.

When the Display Names-enabled version of Viewer 2 ships, will I log in with my username or my regular SL name?

There will be a single login field in which you will be able to use either your username or your original, current SL name (with space). For example, if you're "John Smith" right now in SL, then you can type in John Smith or john.smith in the login screen, in addition to your password, to enter Second Life. If you check the Remember password field, it will remember your login and you can just click the Log in button next time.

Tip: You can't login with a custom Display Name. So if you're "John Smith" and your Display Name is "Johnny Awesome Smith", you must still use John Smith or john.smith to login.

Are you going to make Display Name code available to the open source community?

Yes, we are. It will be a project release made available through Project Snowstorm, our new open development program.

Do I have the opportunity to provide feedback?

Yes, absolutely. That's a big reason why we're announcing Display Names prior to launching the software and running it as a Beta for you to try out in advance. We encourage you to participate in the discussions and tweet using the hashtag #slviewer2. We'll be closely monitoring these channels for feedback.

Choosing Display Names

Will Display Names force all Residents to use our real names?

Absolutely not. Linden Lab celebrates choice. Every Resident will have a unique username and you are welcome to make the Display Name, if you choose to use it, your real name, or any other name that complies with the Second Life Terms of Service.

Can I prevent other Residents from using my Display Name?

Not generally. Display Names are not meant to be unique identifiers. Instead, if you notice that others are using a similar Display Name, feel free to change your own name.

Will this feature expose my real name if I don't want it to?

No. Unless you specifically choose to use your real name (as either your your username or Display Name), that information will not be exposed by this feature.

How can I confirm that I'm interacting with the "John Smith" I know in Second Life?

It's easy to check and see if someone is the "John Smith" you know in SL. You can see a Resident's unique username by viewing their profile or enabling the preference to show usernames over their avatars' heads in a Display Names-enabled Viewer. Learn how. You will also be able to find Residents by either their username or current Display Name and the inworld Search will support finding people by either name.

Furthermore, when using the CHOOSE RESIDENT window, both Display Names and usernames are shown. In abuse (which comes up when picking a person via Help > Report Abuse) situations, this prevents problems with mistakenly reporting the wrong person.

Once I've selected a Display Name, can I change it?

Yes, for the Beta, you will be able to change your Display Name multiple times to try it out. However, Display Name changes will be limited at launch to once per week while we evaluate the feature.

Are there any rules for choosing a Display Name?

You are free to express yourself in your name as long as it complies with the Second Life Terms of Service and Community Standards. When selecting a name, do not choose one that:

• violates a celebrity’s right in their name, a trademarked brand name, or any copyright or intellectual property right;
• deceives others regarding your identity or affiliation; or
• is vulgar, offensive, hateful or harassing.

Are there any rules for choosing a username?

The above rules for Display Names will also apply when registering a username for a new Second Life account.

In addition, we don't allow any Resident to create a username which is the same as existing Resident's username without the period. For example, if "jack.linden" is an existing username, then no Resident can create "jacklinden".

Managing Display Names

I want to keep my current name in Second Life. Can I do that?

Yes. The Display Names feature is all about choice. Your Display Name will default to your current name and you don't need to change it. If you don't change it, then the name above your avatar's head will look exactly the way it does today.

Can I set or change my Display Name? If so, how often?

Yes. For example, if you partner with another SL Resident, you might want to change your name from "Jane Smith" to "Jane Smith-Jones". If you don't like your current name, want to fix a misspelling, use international Unicode characters, or advertise your inworld business, then you can do that, too.

To set your Display Name:

1. Click the My Profile sidebar tab.
2. Click Edit Profile near the bottom.
3. Click Set Display Name.

   

4. Enter a new display name, and click Change.
5. In the sidebar, click Save Changes. (Clicking Cancel doesn't undo a Display Name change.)

To begin with, from launch of the feature, we will only allow you to change your Display Name once per week. When you make that change, it can take up to 72 hours for that change to be implemented throughout Second Life and be available in Search. It's important to know that Support won't be able to edit your Display Name for you if you want to change your Display Name more often or you make an error.

Can I show/hide usernames?

Yes. Usernames are hidden by default but if you'd rather see them, watch this video which shows the following steps:

1. Go to Me menu > Preferences.
2. Click General tab.
3. Under Tags show, check Usernames.

   

   • You can also check Group titles if you want to see those, too.
4. Click OK.

Usernames are also discoverable in their profiles and in Inspectors.

For example, let's say you're interacting with someone with "John Smith" displayed over his head, but you're not sure if he's the "John Smith" that you know had that name as a Second Life first and last name. If he has a smaller username underneath his Display Name that reads "john.smith" then he's the "John Smith" that you know. If his username above his head is something else, then you're interacting with someone else who has the same Display Name, but not the original "john.smith" username.

Do I have the option to not see other avatars' Display Names?

Yes, you can turn off Display Names.

1. Go to Me menu > Preferences.
2. Click Setup tab.
3. Uncheck View Display Names.

Watch a video of how this looks — disabling View Display Names shows old-style "full names" (e.g., username "torley.linden" translates to "Torley Linden") as you're used to, and affects wherever Display Names would appear if it was enabled.

If you're concerned about seeing unique usernames but also want to see Display Names, you can choose to always see other avatars' usernames under Display Names in their name tags.

Can I view someone's past Display Names?

No, you can only see their current Display Name.

Search

Warning: Searching for Display Names in our Google-based Search won't be supported until Display Names are on Agni (the "main grid"), since Google-based Search doesn't crawl other grids.

Will this feature make it easier to find friends in Second Life?

Yes. The Display Name feature will also include a change to Search: when looking for a Resident, search results will contain Display Names and unique usernames, so that you can easily determine which John Smith you're really looking for.

If I remember a Resident's Display Name, but not their username, can I find them in Search?

Yes, this is supported. However, search only has the capability to find a Resident's current Display Name and not past ones.

Can I search for a Resident by their email address, like Facebook or Skype?

No, you cannot.

For content creators and merchants

Will Display Names interrupt my inworld business operations?

No. The content that you create will be marked with your username and your Display Name, and should not interrupt your business.

However, creative use of Display Names can enhance your business. For example, you may want to include your company name or other affiliation in your Display Name.

What name will be visible during L$, item, and other transactions?

Both the username and the Display Name will be shown when viewing object properties and dialog boxes.

Will the Display Name or username (or both) be shown in transaction history for both sender and receiver?

Only usernames will be shown in transaction histories.

My customers know me and my inworld business by my avatar name. What can I do to make sure my customers continue to find me?

All Residents can see your Display Name by default. However, to emphasize your username, don't set your Display Name. Then, it will look exactly the way it looks today and your Display Name will match your username indicating that you are the original resident with that name. As a precaution, you may also advise your customers that they should only pay avatars/objects matching your username.

What happens to inworld objects I created when I change my Display Name?

Display Names on objects will change after you change your Display Name, although it will take up to one day for the change to appear throughout Second Life. Please keep this in mind when you change your Display Name. Your username is also displayed with your objects and won't change.

Will Display Names affect scripts I have created or bought?

No. LSL functions are intended to return the "full name". For example:

• Username: kelly.linden
• Full name: Kelly Linden
• Display Name: Teh Kellz

Per Kelly Linden on the secondlifescripters list:

The full name is pretty much only relevant for LSL for legacy purposes. We spent quite a bit of time trying to find the right way to handle LSL to cause the least amount of breakage. Scripts that parse for a space to get a first name should still work, scripts that require a unique name should still work, scripts that require names to match those stored in a notecard or otherwise stored should still work. These seemed the most common cases. Scripts that ask the user to enter their name and then check that against a sensor event may "break" because what people think of when you ask them for their name will change, especially for new users. These scripts will need to be updated.

While no scripts will break, the only change will be for new Residents who join after Display Names are generally available. Scripts that return names will now return "Resident" for the last name of new users who do not have a last name. Their usernames will still be unique.

Important: New LSL calls are available that will return a username or Display Name for Residents, and Kelly Linden's written a FAQ explaining more.

I use Second Life for work and for fun. Can I change my Display Name when I change contexts to keep them separate?

You can change your Display Name only once per week. However, inworld objects and other Residents can still inspect your username and correlate your identity across name changes. If you want to keep your work and fun identities separate, then we recommend creating separate Second Life accounts.

As a merchant, is it possible to see Residents' usernames?

Yes, learn more.