Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license.
Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat.
We can research this topic together.
This page is a forum in which users can request, and global renamers (including stewards) can consider and carry out, requests to rename accounts to usernames that are not yet taken on any Wikimedia project. While global renamers carry out renames, other users (including bots) help by "clerking" the mechanics of this process. If you wish to help as a clerk, please read the linked page carefully.
Read this page first. You must be aware of, and understand, all of that information before requesting a username change
Check to make sure this username is not already in use. Do this by searching for the name here. If the name appears in the results, even if on another Wikimedia project, it is taken.
Do not create an account under the new name or move/redirect your userpages. We'll do that for you.
Log in with your present username in order to place your request. Renames will not be approved if the requester is not logged in.
Make sure that you have spelt your desired name correctly, including capitalization and spacing. Save the page. If your request is submitted malformed, please remedy it according to this page.
Check back on this page periodically to answer any questions that may arise regarding your request. Please be patient. It may take a few days for your request to be completed. If you do not answer any questions, your request may be declined due to no response.
Once your request has been completed, please do not remove or change your request. It will be archived automatically by a bot.
Requests that do not adhere to these instructions or that are grossly malformed are subject to removal.
For help 'vanishing' from Misplaced Pages, please see courtesy vanishing.
Due to technical limitations, usernames may not start with a lowercase letter. However, you may use the template {{lowercase title}} on your user and user talk pages, and change your signature to reflect your preference.
Underscores and spaces are considered identical by the MediaWiki software.
Use of a company, organization, group, website, or product name as a username is prohibited by the username policy.
Please understand the implications of using your real name before requesting a name change to it.
... your name will be changed to the new one in the page history of every page you've edited.
... your userpage and any subpages will be moved to the new name automatically. Please do not attempt to move them yourself.
... links left by your previous signatures will still point to the old userpage; however, a redirect will be left behind to your new userpage.
... your request will be automatically moved to the archives in the interest of transparency.
Do not be surprised if you suddenly cannot log in to your old account; this merely indicates that you should log in under your new user name as the request has been fulfilled.
Please note that renaming users puts a large load on the database. Please do not request a rename unless it is necessary. If you have only a few edits, see the alternatives above.
Please, please use the form shown in the green box below. Please.
Do not put any special characters (- -, / /, , " ", etc.) around the usernames. Bureaucrats copy usernames to prevent misspellings, and adding extra characters to set off the username increases the chance you will be renamed to the wrong name!
Sign your name at the end with four tildes: ~~~~
If your change request is granted, be sure to Move your userpage to your new userpage location (do not simply copy and paste your userpage text).
Add new requests to the bottom of the section.
Form for new requests:
=== MyNewUsername ===
Please change MyOldUsername to MyNewUsername. Thank you. ~~~~
(Note: You should replace "MyNewUsername" with the username you want to have after the change, and "MyOldUsername" with your current username. Please don't copy this note when making a request.)
It is not possible to delete accounts. In addition, your account, "Matthvm", has been blocked indefinitely due to repeated legal threats. Please try to resolve the issues in your talk page, while logged in properly. Your request cannot be fulfilled. Redux00:55, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
P.S. The former nickname has not been intended as offending. In Finnish the name is pronounced in a different way than in English. I can see though that it's probably better not to use that nickname on a English language site. Ostrobothnian 16:12, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
