Wikipedia:Username policy

This page documents an English Wikipedia policy.

It describes a widely accepted standard that editors should normally follow, though exceptions may apply. Changes made to it should reflect consensus.

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This page in a nutshell: When choosing an account name, be careful to avoid names which may be offensive, confusing or unintelligible to English-speaking users. You are encouraged to use only one account.

The username policy covers accepted practices and behavior in naming and operating a user account on Wikipedia for accounts created after 2006-12-08.

When you create a new account, so you can log in, one of the things you'll have to do is pick a username. This page gives some advice on this, and also details uses of accounts which are not acceptable.

Your username is attached to all edits you make while logged in. This means that all your edits are credited and attributed to you. This is further explained at Wikipedia:Why create an account?.

Choosing a username

The choice of username might be based on your real name or a familiar Internet nickname, or a new pseudonym that you use only for Wikipedia, depending on how much anonymity you want to preserve while editing.

Some Wikipedia editors have been subject to severe harassment outside of Wikipedia as a result of their contributions on Wikipedia. For some people this is a reason not to use their real name or any previously used username or nick name that can be tied back to you. It is possible to change your mind later and rename your account, but a record will still exist tying you to the original username; see below for details.

If you choose not to use your real name, you should pick a username that doesn't interfere with the writing of this encyclopedia. That means a name that you're comfortable writing under, but also one that others are comfortable seeing and collaborating with. A controversial name may affect other users' perspective on your credibility or political or religious viewpoint. Avoiding controversial names is in your own interest.

Wikipedia usernames are case sensitive. The first letter of all usernames is automatically capitalized.

Signatures

By default, your username is also used as your signature on talk page posts. For details on signatures and how to customize them, see Wikipedia:Signatures.

Some editors on this Wikipedia will be unable to read a username written in non-Latin alphabets, such as Chinese. Non-Latin usernames are allowed, but if you have one you are encouraged to customize your signature to include a transliteration.

Username disambiguation

If your username is similar to that of another Wikipedia editor, you should add a hatnote (disambiguation) so a reader can find the other editor if desired. You can use the templates {{thisuser}}, {{thisusertalk}}, and {{userpage otheruse}}, among others, at the top of your user page and user talk page for this purpose.

If your username is commonly misspelled, consider adding a redirect from the misspelled username to your actual username. (You can create a user page without going through the new user process.)

Inappropriate usernames

Wikipedia does not allow usernames that are misleading, harassing, or offensive - both in English and in other languages, as well as misspellings and substitutions thereof such as through Leetspeak. In borderline cases, you will be asked to choose a new username; in egregious cases, your account will simply be permanently blocked.

The line between acceptable and unacceptable user names is based on the opinions of other editors, not by the creator of the name. You should not create new usernames for the purpose of trying to find this line. If your real name appears to be inappropriate but you wish to use it anyway, you can e-mail an administrator to work out a solution. Note that the examples below are also inappropriate for your signature.

Misleading usernames include names that:

Imply the user is an admin or other official figure on Wikipedia, or of the Wikimedia Foundation
Closely resemble the name of another Wikipedia user
Match the name of a well-known living or recently deceased person, unless you verifiably are that person, in which case please note this on your user page. Wikipedians with articles is a list of such users.
Match the name of a well-known company or group (especially if the user promotes it), unless the name is generic and could reasonably refer to something else.
Resemble an IP address, e-mail address or web page address, including names containing "@", ".com", ".org", etc. Note that an exception is made for long-standing editors that have such a username.
Confusingly refer to a Wikipedia process, namespace, or toolbar item
Imply an automated account, such as names containing "robot", "bot", or a variation thereof. Such usernames are reserved for bot accounts
Consist of a lengthy repetition, or apparently random sequence, of characters, e.g. "aaaaaaaaaaaa" or "ghfjkghdfjgkdhfjkg"
Are extremely lengthy

Harassing usernames include usernames that

Are defamatory or insulting to other people, groups, articles or processes
Contain personal information about people, such as a telephone number or street address
Give the impression that you intend to cause trouble here, such as by alluding to hacking, spamming, trolling, vandalism, legal threats or computer viruses
Are similar to those used by known vandals

Offensive usernames include those that refer or allude to

The names of religions or religious figures; in addition, usernames that invoke the name of a religious figure or religion are prohibited should they be distasteful, provoke or promote intolerance, are disrespectful of the religion, or promote the ideology that one religion is superior to others. Usernames that are clearly expressions of faith are discouraged, however considered allowed unless disruptive. Should a username not be clear as to the motive, it may be reviewed.
Performing or endorsing violent real-world actions
Promotion of a controversial or potentially inflammatory point of view
Racism, sexism, or sexual orientation
Illnesses, disabilities, or medical or psychological conditions
Reproductive or excretory body functions, including genitalia and sexual slang
Slurs, profanity and obscenities

Reporting inappropriate names

Clearly inappropriate usernames should be reported at Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism, and can be blocked on sight by any administrator. This includes usernames used solely to vandalize. In these cases it is frequently useful to disable account creation, if the username is believed to have been created in bad faith.

The starting place to discuss a questionable (but not clearly inappropriate) username is on the user's talk page, suggesting that they change their username. Remember that users may not be native speakers of English, and may be unaware of causing offense. If that doesn't resolve the issue, do a posting at Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Usernames. The user should be notified about this. In this process, other users comment on the appropriateness of the name. If after discussion, consensus is that the name is inappropriate, an administrator can block the account. For such blocks, the option to "disable account creation" should not be used, allowing the user to pick another name.

Changing your username

Usernames can be changed by bureaucrats. You can request a name change at Wikipedia:Changing username. If you have few edits, it may be easier and quicker to simply register a new account with a different name.

Any talk pages that you have signed will still display your former username. If you feel strongly about your name no longer being on visible pages on the site, you can edit these pages to remove your signature. (Your old signature will still appear in diffs and in earlier versions of the pages.)

Deleting your account

Accounts with contributions cannot be deleted since this would allow another user to create the account, and claim authorship of those edits. It is not possible for your edits to be removed entirely; for this reason, removing the account would potentially violate copyrights by allowing for such authorship claims.

However, you may request your user and talk page to be deleted, as explained at Wikipedia:User page.

Sharing accounts

For reasons of attribution and accountability, you are not allowed to share your account or password with others. If you do, and this becomes known, your account will be blocked.

Using multiple accounts

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It is recommended that users not edit under multiple usernames, except with good reason. For example, prominent users might create a new account in order to experience how the community functions for new users, or users editing under their real name may want an alternate pseudonymous account for editing articles they would not want their real name associated with. Also, users running a bot are expected to run this under an alternative account. If you use multiple accounts, it is recommended that you explain this on your user page. Templates such as {{User Alternate Acct|main account}} and {{User Alt Acct Master}} can be used for this purpose.

Policies apply per person, not per account. Using a second account for policy violations will cause any penalties to be applied to both accounts. Users who are banned or blocked from editing may not use sock puppets to circumvent this. Evading a block or ban causes the timer on the block to restart, and may further lengthen it.

Sockpuppetry

You are not allowed to create multiple accounts in order to make your opinion seem more prevalent than it actually is. This is known as sock puppetry. Examples of such policy violations include attempting to vote twice in a poll, agreeing with your other account in a deletion discussion, and engaging in revert wars using multiple accounts.

In rare cases, users with a particular point of view have created sockpuppets to act as if they held the opposite point of view. Generally such sockpuppets behave badly in order to make "their" POV look bad, or make straw man arguments that the puppeteer can easily refute with his main account. These are known as "straw man sockpuppets" and are likewise prohibited.

Dealing with violations

Sock puppet accounts operating in violation of this policy should be blocked indefinitely; the main account may be blocked at the discretion of any administrator. Non-administrators may list the accounts at Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets or Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism. Difficult cases where the nature and extent of sockpuppetry is unclear and where there is an ongoing problem may be listed at Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser for investigation.

Single-purpose accounts

A single-purpose account is an account that only does one particular thing on Wikipedia, or only exists to push a single opinion (as opposed to regular editors, that tend to edit and discuss in a variety of areas). Such accounts are not forbidden, and indeed may be novice editors who will grow interested in other topics over time. Still, a single-purpose account may be a red flag for sockpuppetry. Experienced users are expected to assume good faith and be nice to these.

Checkuser

Where it is unclear whether or not sock puppetry is in progress, server log information can be consulted. To comply with Wikimedia Foundation privacy policy, this is limited to a handful of users and only done in serious cases, with reasonable cause, to check if user A is the same as user B based upon some evidence. "Fishing" – or general trawling of users in a debate for possible sockpuppets – is not supported and requests for such checks are unlikely to be agreed to. Requests may be made at Request for CheckUser.

Tagging identified sock puppets

If an account has been shown to be a sock puppet used for policy violations, then it may be identified as such, by adding {{SockpuppetProven}} to the user page and {{sockblock}} to the talk page of the sock puppet account. There are four tags available, one for violations confirmed by Checkuser, another for other forms of confirmed sockpuppet use, a third for suspected violations, and the fourth is the suspected IP addresses:

{{SockpuppetCheckuser|Username|Optional name of CheckUser case (what is after Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/)}}
{{SockpuppetProven|1=Username|evidence=[[EvidenceLink]]}}. "EvidenceLink" can be replaced with something such as "[[Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Username]]":
{{Sockpuppet|1=Username|evidence=[[EvidenceLink]]}}
{{IPsock|1=Username|evidence=[[EvidenceLink]]}}

The original or best-known account of a user that operates sock puppets may be tagged with {{Sockpuppeteer}}. Note that this tag is intended for abusive sock puppets and should not be used on the pages of people whose legitimate multiple accounts have not been blocked.

Meatpuppets

Sometimes, multiple individuals create new accounts specifically to participate in, or influence, a particular discussion. This is common in deletion discussions or controversial articles. These may be friends of another editor or article subject, or may have been solicited by someone to support a specific angle in a debate. This practice of external solicitation is considered unacceptable.

Such accounts are known as "meatpuppets". Since they are hard to distinguish from sockpuppets, they are treated similarly. When there is uncertainty whether a party is one user with sockpuppets, or several users acting as meatpuppets, they may be treated as one individual.

Doppelganger accounts

It is acceptable to pre-emptively create another account with a username similar to one's own, with the purpose of preventing impersonation by vandals. Such accounts are called doppelganger accounts. They should be marked with the {{doppelganger}} or {{doppelganger2}} tag, or simply redirected to one's own userpage. Such accounts should not be used for editing.