[andromeda-brain]

As someone who very, very casually uses Discord, I’ve always found the naming system confusing. I don’t use it enough to care to memorize my code, and I’m dissuaded from using it because I know I’ll have to face the confusing process of finding my full name that they assigned to me (rather than the handle I use on every other network and is basically my second name). I groan when someone wants me to use Discord, and the naming system is definitely part of that.

That said, I was still really surprised to get the pop-up that they’re moving to this new system, mostly because of the obvious friction they’re creating for all of their existing users.

My intuition is that this is a move to attract users like me, at the risk of alienating some power users or the users who won’t be bothered to figure out the name change system. Can’t tell you whether it’ll work for them, but I can say that I’ll personally be slightly more likely to use the product.

[Ekaros]

I personally don't see the issue with current model.

Then again I don't use Discord to directly chat with people. And if I wanted to do that, why wouldn't I just make a new server or invite them to one I have. And do that simply by sending a link.

Actually, if adding other users is the issue, why not allow them to make custom links for that purpose. Something easy enough to remember if they do it all the time.

[andromeda-brain]

That’s fair, there were probably other workarounds for my use case. But there may also be other problems, different from mine, caused by the naming system (?). Playing whack-a-mole with all those problems, assuming there are more, may not have been worth it vs this major one-time friction.

Just kinda theorizing at this point; I have no stake in this fight but find the decision really interesting

[nvarsj]

Do you have a phone number? Do you find that confusing? Imagine if you had to claim a globally unique username to use a phone. Is that better?

Discriminators are, in my mind, are a clever hybrid. You have a unique name plus a short randomized "telephone number". This is easier to remember than a 10 digit phone number, or a username with lots of random junk (xxxxMyNameIsBlahx1203923) added it to it to make it unique.

[andromeda-brain]

Yeah it’s a clever hybrid but that doesn’t mean that it’s without its drawbacks. I’m not really trying to argue one way or the other, but I do think that there are tradeoffs between using a universally understood system for something this core to the product vs. a custom, albeit clever, solution.

[eropple]

> a custom, albeit clever, solution.

It was "custom" in 2010. When StarCraft 2 did it. Discord launched in 2015.

"I cannot parse the idea of a username without an @ in front of it" does not suggest that such a person will be more receptive to Discord when @'s are added. On the other hand, I've already canceled my Nitro subscription because I had it for the novelty name and a 200-server limit that I'm no longer using.

[jsnell]

Why do you need to know the full id to use the app? It is not required for signing in, for joining a server, or for creating a server + creating an invite link.

[andromeda-brain]

I don’t know or really understand the full process for any of that haha. I’m a super casual user. When I open the app, my only goal is to figure out how to find my username to send to my friend, accept their friend invite, and then bumble my way around the app until I’m in a voice or text chat.

I’m not their core user base. But I’m guessing that I’m the type of person they want to engage next, kind of like a warm lead

[debugnik]

> confusing process of finding my full name that they assigned to me

Isn't it always shown at the lower left corner of the window? Or the profile tab on mobile.

Also, the only part assigned to you should have been the #NNNN suffix, the rest can be your same handle as everywhere else.