Wikinews:Changing username

Shortcut:
WN:CHU

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

Alternatives

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).

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).

Instructions

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

NOTE: You must not create the new account yet for this process to work. If the target username exists, the rename process will fail.

1. Check the new name you want does not exist (Special:Listusers).

   Under no circumstances will an account with edits be usurped; this is an attribution requirement of Wikimedia project licensing.

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.

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.

Orango → Oxygeek

• Current name: Orango (talk · contribs · logs · block log)
• Requested name: Oxygeek (SUL reports: old & new) (rename user)
• Reason: New Username Orango ^speak! 22:39, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

• There's already an Oxygeek on English Wikipedia; I'm assuming this is yours. Can you make an edit with that account on the enwp talk page for that user confirming you own the account and want this rename put through? Thanks! --Brian McNeil / ^talk 23:14, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

-Zeus- → Zeus

• Current name: -Zeus- (talk · contribs · logs · block log)
• Requested name: Zeus (SUL reports: old & new) (rename user)
• Reason: SUL with enwiki -Zeus- (talk) 05:16, 21 March 2010 (UTC)

You need to verify you own the account on enwiki. (making an edit to your talk page on wikipedia with user:Zeus saying you authorize this, and linking to the diff is sufficient to verify you own it). Bawolff ☺☻ 05:18, 21 March 2010 (UTC)

Here's the diff from wikibooks, but I already got renamed it looks like. [1] Thanks Zeus (talk) 15:02, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

I see what happened, it seems that my wikipedia cookie got used over here as a new account. As I didn't have any major edits, I will rescind proposal and just use this account. Zeus (talk) 20:51, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

MisterWiki → Diego Grez

• Current name: MisterWiki (talk · contribs · logs · block log)
• Requested name: Diego Grez (SUL reports: old & new) (rename user)
• Reason: MisterWiki is odd. Diego Grez ^{let's talk} 01:26, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Comment This will cause your account here to be detached from accounts on other wikis; is that ok with you (unless you're requesting this username change globally)? Tempodivalse [talk] 01:38, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

I want to rename globally. And yes, it's okay. --Diego Grez ^{let's talk} 01:39, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

OK, then Done. Tempodivalse [talk] 01:41, 7 April 2010 (UTC)