I see where we have a new user with the same username as mine. Would it be appropriate to ask him to change it to avoid confusion, or are there enough other cues (user ID number, rep) to make that unnecessary? What's the rule about this on other SE sites?
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1This happened to me a while back also, but I think the user was unregistered, so I can't find him now. Anyway, the icon image is enough to distinguish when it comes to questions/answers in my opinion. The only problem is that it becomes confusing in the comments, especially if both of you are involved.– jakeCommented Dec 29, 2011 at 5:42
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1I think I like this suggestion. Alex the Lizard sounds cool. =)– HodofHodCommented Dec 29, 2011 at 17:00
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1 Answer
Here's the main post about this on MSO. The idea is that people should be allowed to use their real names as their usernames, and just as multiple people have the same real name, multiple people need to be allowed to have the same username.
If the new Alex was intentionally trying to impersonate you, I'd take action. Given that he's not, there are plenty of ways to disambiguate, starting with your Gravatar image and rep score. One can tell at a glance that the other Alex isn't you.
If you really want to ensure that you won't get inadvertently impersonated, you can change your username to something that no one else would use unless they're intentionally copying yours. Or, you can pick any point on the uniqueness spectrum between a non-rare first name on one hand and a string of random characters on the other.
answered Dec 29, 2011 at 5:39
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2just want to point out that gravatar and rep don't show up in the comments.– MenachemCommented Dec 29, 2011 at 23:17
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@Dan, edit your profile, and change the "Display Name."– Isaac Moses ModCommented May 24, 2013 at 1:01