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#REDIRECT [[User (computing)]]
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A '''screen name''', '''screenname''' or '''s/n''' is a name or string of characters chosen to uniquely identify a user within an [[online]] system, including dial-up [[bulletin board system]]s, platform videogame servers, and [[Internet]]-based environments. The term started out as ''screen name'' (two words), but in recent years, the usage of the single-word form ''screenname'' has been steadily increasing. The abbreviation "sn" can also mean screen name in online contexts.
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A screen name is frequently limited in length and character composition by the technical restrictions of the applications for which it is used, such as [[e-mail]], [[instant messaging]], or [[file sharing]]. For example, [[Prodigy (ISP)]] online service originally assigned non-word alphanumeric strings as screen names, and Compuserve online service originally assigned only numeric strings. Screen names are often [[pseudonym]]s or first names, many times complemented by extra numbers, letters, or other characters to disambiguate them from users with similar screen names on the same system; this practice is increasingly common as the popularity of online environments grows and the availability of unique identifiers dwindles.
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The term 'screen name' was originally coined by the [[America Online]] service, and, strictly speaking, does not apply in cases other than usernames for the AOL and AOL-owned [[CompuServe]] services. Outside the AOL milieu, it is much more common to use the synonyms 'handle', '[[username]],' '[[user id]]', or '[[nickname]]' (shortened to 'nick' in the [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] environment).{{citationneeded}} The use of 'screen name' is often used as a reverse [[shibboleth]] by old timers to identify those who are newer to the online world.

==See also==
*[[Nicknabitchme]]
*[[Stage name]]

[[Category:Pseudonyms]]

[[da:Øgenavn]]
[[de:Nickname]]
[[it:Nickname]]
[[nl:Nickname]]
[[ja:愛称]]
[[nds:Ökelnaam]]
[[pl:Nick]]
[[pt:Nickname]]
[[sv:Smeknamn]]

Latest revision as of 15:36, 22 March 2022

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