Wikinews:Changing username

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The user name Wikinewsies choose for themselves is no longer set in stone. On request, Bureaucrats can change user account settings and article histories such that all previous edits of a given user are attributed to the new name. Currently, only users with fewer than 5000 edits (edit counter) can be renamed. You can only be renamed to an account that does not exist.

1. To change your user name on the English Wikinews only, please make your request on this page.
2. To change your user name on another Wikimedia project that has a local bureaucrat (see Special:Listusers on your wiki to check), please ask one of those bureaucrats.
3. To change your user name on another Wikimedia project that has no local bureaucrat, please ask a steward at meta:requests for permission.

• Archives: see /Archive

[edit] Alternatives

[edit] Change your signature

Instead of changing your name, you can change your preferences to change your signature. This will change your "public appearance" on talk pages without requiring costly changes to the database.

• All your edits will be attributed to the same user. Although it will be your Username and not your sig that appears in page histories, most public interaction here goes on via talk pages.
• If you have the desire and the patience, you can use "What links here" from your User: page to manually edit all your old signatures to use the new sig as well (probably not necessary in most cases).

[edit] Create a new account

You can simply create a new account with the desired name, and redirect your old User: and User Talk: pages to your new account.

• Put a note at the top of your new User: and User Talk: page to explain the change.
• This does not merge your contributions history; but anyone investigating the old edits will be redirected to your new one.
• Again, if you have the patience, you can use "What links here" from your old User: page to manually edit all your old talk page signatures to display the new sig as well, using a piped link of the form [[User:OldUserName|NewSig]]. Use an informative edit summary so that people do not think you are tampering with someone else's entry on a talk page (a definite community no-no).

[edit] Instructions

Please follow the procedure carefully or your request will not be fulfilled.

1. Check the new name you want does not exist (Special:Listusers)
2. Sign in with the account that you want renamed.
3. Copy the following text and paste it at the very bottom of the "Requests" section.

   {{subst:Renameuser|CURRENT|NEW|Reason for requested renaming}} ~~~~

In addition:

• If you are re-naming to be consistent with a username on another project, please include a diff to an edit with that account saying you want to rename on wikinews, to prove you really own the account on the other project. If you have a unified account under the SUL system, you should assert you want the change with your 'home' wiki
• If you are a sysop, please note this fact with your request so that the necessary changes can be made.
• Once your request is dealt with, all edits from your old account will be reattributed to your new account.
• You should check that the old account has been recreated and blocked to prevent someone else creating the account and impersonating you.

[edit] Current requests

Please put new requests at the end. To expedite your request, post a note on the talk pages of all bureaucrats. You may find a list of bureaucrats at WN:A. Fulfilled requests will be immediately moved to /Archive. See also special:log/renameuser.

[edit] Pmlinediter → Pmlineditor

• Current name: Pmlinediter (talk · contribs · logs · block log)
• Requested name: Pmlineditor (SUL reports: old & new) (rename user)
• Reason: Unify SUL. Pmlineditor ∞ 11:38, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Done Tempodivalse [talk] 14:33, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Oneiros → Oneiros

• Current name: Oneiros (talk · contribs · logs · block log)
• Requested name: Oneiros (SUL reports: old & new) (rename user)
• Reason: I want to usurp the account for my global SUL 91.1.102.162 (talk) 20:57, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

• I don't see any problem with this — if you can prove you own both accounts. Please provide a link to a signed, logged-in, diff on your home wiki (enwiki), and same for the account here. I will then be happy to rename the unlinked account to 'Oneiros-old and you can sort out the SUL. If you don't have the ability to log in to the account, then it'll be up for wider community discussion and scruitiny. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 02:20, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Here's the link to the section on my home wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Oneiros#SUL . Sorry, I don't own the Oneiros on this wiki. But that account hasn't been used for more than four years.--91.1.105.68 (talk) 14:45, 19 November 2009 (UTC)