Please assign user names, a member number.

Feature Request: A clean databases without derogatory usernames would be a great new standard. No more user names in the database, just member numbers, similar to a licence plate length. The member number could be from a joining date. If the user names are hidden from public view, then people would not be reporting others for derogatory user names and lichess would not ask to close accounts because of names used.

All we really need to see from an opponent is a member number. The only time a user might want to know a user name is when they become friends. I believe, each member should have an assigned original Lichess member number, that will be visible all the time, including in the databases.

Lichess cannot remain trapped in the past dealing with passed derogatory user names. The public databases need to be faultless (irreproachable).

I believe that we all can strive to put things right, and hope that the next feature change will be for the better.

or just make it that we see names but on the backend it is numbers
meaning we would toscani said #1
while on the backend it would be 1 said #1

Then if someone wants to change there name
all lichess has to do is go to that number and change the name assigned to it
number , name
1 , toscani -> 1 , bob

and it would up data automatically since the 1 mentioned earlier is a call to the database for the name

problem is #1 or #2 is alot of work and requires redesigning most of lichess backend its like a months worth of work for lichess
so lichess prop wont do it

Yikes, Compuserve!

Due diligence is the smart move for the databases and the forum posts.

Maybe some would like to see anonymous in the database instead of their own user name. Especially if associated with an opponent that has a derogatory username. A site should not need to waste time on correcting user names.

Some present names probably need to be hidden from the young public eyes. So, derogatory user names that go against TOS, should not be visible in the databases or in the forums. They need to be relabeled. Everyone should be able to see their own user name, but the others don't need to see them.

When we post, maybe we could have the option of using a member number instead of our user name and the derogatory names get forced to use their member numbers.

Usernames are used as IDs in the database, so currently it's not possible to change them. MongoDB isn't a relational database.

It needn’t be one or the other (a name or a number); it could be both. Consider the way they do it on Discord.

Confer: https://lichess.org/forum/lichess-feedback/they-want-to-block-my-nickname?page=6#59

In MongoDB there will always automatically be an ID, so I think your initial comment is wrong but yeah they could show the id or another number so that the username can be changed more easily.

My only concern is: then what do you show on the games? The numbers as on Discord? It's just way less user-friendly, I think the tradeoff might not be worth it.

@for_cryingout_loud said in #2:

or just make it that we see names but on the backend it is numbers
meaning we would toscani said #1
while on the backend it would be 1 said #1

Then if someone wants to change there name
all lichess has to do is go to that number and change the name assigned to it
number , name
1 , toscani -> 1 , bob

and it would up data automatically since the 1 mentioned earlier is a call to the database for the name

problem is #1 or #2 is alot of work and requires redesigning most of lichess backend its like a months worth of work for lichess
so lichess prop wont do it

I forsee quite a bit of impersonation from nine year old children.

Interesting. Happens in some servers I encountered before where each member has unique identity number.
Lichess should expand it with some more feature so as to broaden the server.

If an extra tag is added to the lichess pgn's, we could then ID the players according to them.
If it was a bot the pgn would not use [White "Bot name"]
... but would use the pgn tag:
[WhiteType "Program"]

If it was a user that has a derogatory user name, then their games would not use the pgn tag [White "Derogatory"]
They would use the pgn tag ...
[WhiteType "Human"]
So those players would not have their user name displayed in the White tag.

The reported derogatory names get's fixed by changing their tag before going into the MongoDB.

Below is a quote from site http://www.saremba.de/chessgml/standards/pgn/pgn-complete.htm

9.1.5: Tags: WhiteType, BlackType
These tags use string values; these describe the player types. The value "human" should be used for a person while the value "program" should be used for algorithmic (computer) players.

https://opensource.apple.com/source/Chess/Chess-109.0.3/Documentation/PGN-Standard.txt.auto.html#:~:text=address.%0A%0A%0A9.1.5%3A%20Tags%3A-,WhiteType,-%2C%20BlackType%0A%0AThese%20tags