Commons:Changing username

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Your user name is not set in stone. On request, bureaucrats can change user account settings and page histories so that all your previous edits are attributed to a new name using Special:Renameuser. You must make the request from the account you want renamed; anonymous requests are ignored for security reasons.

There are detailed directions below, please follow them carefully to save everyone time and effort. Not following the directions means we may have to ask for more information, causing delay.

You can request here to have your user name changed to one that does not exist. To "usurp" an existing username, you must request below.

[edit] Do you really need to change your username?

If you are thinking about changing your username, before taking action, please ask yourself, "is the change REALLY necessary?!" while reviewing en:Wikipedia:Changing usernames guidelines...we do not adhere to these guidelines, but they provide some good food for thought.

Please note that renaming users puts a large load on the database, as the process requires changing lots of MySQL entries (reattribution of edits mainly). Please do not request a rename unless it is necessary. If you have only a few edits, see the alternatives below.

[edit] Alternatives

Without changing your username, there are some alternative ways you can try.

[edit] Change your signature

• Instead of changing your name, you can change your signature at User Preferences. This will change your "public appearance" on pages such as Talk pages without actually changing your username as it appears in histories.

[edit] Create a new account

• You can simply create a new account with the desired name.
• Using redirect function helps visitors at your old edits to lead from your OLD user name to your NEW one.
• Put a note at the top of your new user page to explain the change in order to avoid confusing others.
• This does not merge your contributions history. It is impossible to merge them in the future, as there is no such feature.
• If you have the patience, you can use "What links here" Special:Whatlinkshere/User:YourOldUserName 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] Note: Changing your username

• To change your user name on the Commons only, please make your request on this page. To change your user name on another project, ask someone there or see m:Changing username.
• Do not create an account under the new name. If you do, it will still be possible to complete your request, but you will have to prove that you own both accounts.
• Please start the procedure with logging in your account. Re-attribution of edits from an anonymous account to a username cannot be done. See Changing attribution for an edit.
• Once your request is fulfilled, all edits and other user data (including preferences, watchlist, and password) from your old account will be reattributed to your new account. Also, you will want to move your user page and any subpages to the new name, if that has not been done yet.
• Once your request is fulfilled, the old account name will no longer exist, and anyone cannot register an account with the old name to impersonate you.^[1]

1. ↑ If you want to re-register with your old user name again, please contact any administrator.

[edit] Procedure

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

1. Start with logging in your current account. Without logging in, the process cannot go through successfully.
2. Check that the new name you want does not exist at Special:Listusers. If the user name already exists, you cannot get it; there is one exception: #Current Usurpation requests
3. Add your request in the bottom of the "current requests" section.
4. If your request is not fulfilled in a couple of days, please ask any bureaucrat to look at this page. Since this is a low-traffic page, your request might go unnoticed here.
5. Once your request is fulfilled, all edits and other user data (including preferences, watchlist, and password) from your old account will be reattributed to your new account.

[edit] Making a new request

Before making a new request, please look at #Do you really need to change your username? and reconsider once more.

1. Click on either Add a request for a new user name, or Add a usurp request for non-active existing user name.
2. In the section box, please note your current username and the desired username (Old to New), and give a short reason why in the edit box. Sign with four tildes (~~~~) and save the page when you are done.

• If your request is to move to the same name you have on another wiki, you may be asked to crosslink to show that you control that name, such as giving a reference to your WikiMatrix (example) if you have one, or posting on that wiki confirming your current identity here.
• Single User Login is active across Wikimedia projects, so you can login on Commons with your global username.
• Requests that move your username to something that will need to be usurped later are not likely to be granted. This tool is a good way to search to see if your desired username already exists on other wikis and is likely to need to be usurped.

[edit] Archives

Fulfilled, withdrawn, and declined requests will be moved immediately to the current archive. The only exception to this are those requests that are deferred (not currently done but perhaps to be done in future).

• /Archive1 (2004 - 2006)
• /Archive2 (2007, through end of July)
• /Archive3 (August 2007 - March 2008)
• /Archive4 (April 2008 -)

[edit] Current requests

[edit] Kevin17 to Mercenario97

I'm an user of w:Spanish Wikipedia. I am Mercenario97 in es.wiki, en.wiki, de.wiki, fr.wiki, ja.wiki and es.wikt. --Kevin17 16:07, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --EugeneZelenko 16:36, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Jerrypp772000 to Jerrch

Consistency with all the other accounts I have on other Wiki projects.--Jerrypp772000 21:10, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --EugeneZelenko 15:18, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Dawid91 to D@wid

I'm D@wid on Polish Wikipedia, so I would like to have the same name on Commons —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dawid91 (talk • contribs) at 19:13, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Usernames can't contain the at character here. 哦，是吗？(О кириллицей) 19:19, 22 March 2008 (GMT)

I'm not so sure about that; do we actually have some guideline that I missed altogether? In any case, http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedysta:D@wid points to User:Heraldyk, not User:Dawid91; can you confirm your claim by providing a crosslink? Do you own both accounts? Patrícia ^msg 12:20, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Ah, I understood now that this is a technical limitation of the MediaWiki software. Thie request will be archived as "not done" soon if you don't request another username or give up on this altogether. Patrícia ^msg 14:47, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] User:Petar Marjanovic to User:Dodo von den Bergen

Because of anonymization, SUL and "uniqification". --Petar Marjanovic 17:40, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --Patrícia ^msg 14:18, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Billy227 to Archanamiya

Continuity between projects (I just changed from Billy to Archanamiya on Wikipedia). Billy227 21:28, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Fixed header - it said Billy, not Billy227. Also...

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) . giggy _(:O) 23:53, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Heron2 to Heron

I'm known as Heron on en.wikipedia.org, so I'd like to have the same name here to enable unified login. When I created my commons account, there was another user here called Heron, but that user seems to have been deleted. I'm therefore hoping that my account can be renamed without having to 'usurp' anyone. --Heron2 10:45, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

P.S. Here's a cross-link to my en: user page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Heron#Commons_name_change. --Heron2 10:49, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

User:Heron has useful contributions on Commons. --EugeneZelenko 16:26, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Oh yes, I see now that they have. I thought I clicked on 'User Contributions' before and got nothing, but I must have been mistaken. In that case I'll have to soldier on as Heron2, I suppose... unless there's a way of asking Heron if they wouldn't mind vacating the account, as they haven't used it for over 3 years? -- 81.86.175.16 18:09, 5 April 2008 (UTC) Heron2 17:25, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Freestyle nl to Emil76

After my account Freestyle was blocked for sockpuppetry on the Dutch Wikipedia, I was given an new account, Emil76. For consistency with this new account I'd like to change my username on this project to Emil76 too. -Freestyle  nl (talk) 16:55, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --Patrícia ^msg 16:48, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] David Descamps to Speculoos

Consistency with all the other accounts I have on other Wiki projects. David Descamps 18:12, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --Patrícia ^msg 21:59, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Speculoos on WP:FR, Speculoos on WP:EN, Speculoos on WP:NL Yours, David Descamps 07:57, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you please confirm on at least one of that account that you own David Descamps on Commons? --EugeneZelenko 15:13, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pdeege to Dmitri Nikolaj

Consistency with the other accounts I have on other Wiki projects (Dutch, English and German Wikipedia} Pdeege 07:23, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --EugeneZelenko 15:14, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WonYong to WonRyong

My legal name is chaged. My en: name chang is approved. -- WonYong^Talk 06:01, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --Patrícia ^msg 10:32, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] User:Auseklis to User:Auseklis

Private life protection, consistency with my accounts on other Wikis (on WP:fr, WP:nl, Wikiversity:fr)Auseklis 16:35, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) . fr:Utilisateur:Auseklis lists Auseklis as Commons account. --EugeneZelenko 15:07, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Here is the diff you asked.Auseklis 18:04, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Done EugeneZelenko 14:52, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks!Auseklis 15:24, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] User:Iceheron to User:Hisagi

"Hisagi" is transliterated name from my username at the Japanese Wikipedia. I use this name at other Wikipedia Projects except JAWP.(eg. de,fr,fi,) Please change it. --Iceheron 11:27, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) EugeneZelenko 15:07, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

I added links to User:Iceheron and en:User:Hisagi. Is this OK? --Iceheron 05:10, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Requests that cannot currently be fulfilled

These requests will not currently be fulfilled; but may be in the future. For renames that cannot be fulfilled because of a global account name being already reserved, these are in stand by until bug 13507 is resolved. See also m:Changing username for other complicated requests.

Contentious usurpation requests are also moved to this section, until there is a consensus on how to proceed with such cases. See also Commons:Village pump#Usurp or not usurp accounts with useful contributions.

[edit] .:Ajvol:. to Александр Сигачёв

I request this username change as a part of SUL procedure. I'm an admin on ru.wp, and there is link from my user page here to the user page on my mother wiki and vice versa.

• Current username: .:Ajvol:.
• Requested username: Александр Сигачёв

Thanks --ajvol 23:07, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) 哦，是吗？(О кириллицей) 01:03, 26 March 2008 (GMT)

There is a cross-link already, as stated by the user (I confirmed it). .:Ajvol:., I am not able to rename your account, I get the "Cannot rename user Александр Сигачёв as this username is reserved for a global account." error. It's beyond my knowledge right now what to do in such a situation. I'll try to figure out what to do in such cases. Sorry. Patrícia ^msg 12:21, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid it's a problem that will only be solved after resolution of bug 13507, so you'll have to wait for that :(. Patrícia ^msg 14:31, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Please see the message box at the top of this page, your global SUL account can be unlinked if you visit m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation to request it. Then get the renames needed done, then relink. Hope that helps. ++Lar: t/c 23:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] User:Renier Maritz to User:RAM

I need same username for SUL. --Renier Maritz 14:17, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --EugeneZelenko 14:58, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Like this? RAM --Renier Maritz 15:35, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

That is fine, thank you, but unfortunately I cannot rename the account because you have unified your accounts already. Please wait for the resolution of bug 13507. Until then, there's nothing a bureaucrat can do, sorry. Patrícia ^msg 12:41, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Please see the message box at the top of this page, your global SUL account can be unlinked if you visit m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation to request it. Then get the renames needed done, then relink. Hope that helps. ++Lar: t/c 23:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Astur1 to Astur

Hola, mi nombre es Astur(mi página) y soy usuario de la Wikipedia en Asturiano "Uiquipedia". Mi nombre en Commons es Astur1 (mi página). He tenido que añadirle el "1" porque no puedo registrame como Astur. Hubo un error al registrar y ahora no puedo usar ese nombre. El usuario Astur de Commons no tiene ninguna contribución, como podrás comprobar; en cambio mis contribuciones bajo "1" son numerosas. Puedes arreglar esto para que pueda registrarme como Astur?. O sea Astur1---->Astur Un saludo --Astur1 11:38, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Renomeei a conta "Astur" para "Astur (usurped)" mas não posso renomear a tua conta porque activaste o SUL, e um burocrata não pode renomear para uma conta global. Tens de esperar a resolução do bug 13507, infelizmente um burocrata não pode fazer nada mais neste momento. Saludos, Patrícia ^msg 14:00, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see the message box at the top of this page, your global SUL account can be unlinked if you visit m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation to request it. Then get the renames needed done, then relink. Hope that helps. (Patricia can you translate that for me? :) ) ++Lar: t/c 23:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

(tradução): Por favor, verifica a mensagem no topo desta subpágina; a tua conta global pode ser desfeita fazendo um pedido em m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation. Efectua então todas as renomeações necessárias, e só depois refaz a conta global. Espero ter ajudado. translated by Patrícia ^msg 11:41, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] User:Notschrei to User:Eigntlich

Consistency with all the other accounts I have on other Wiki projects. You may look here to ensure that Notschrei on Commons is Eigntlich on Wikipedia. --Notschrei 15:51, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

I am sorry but it's not possible to rename your account because you have activated SUL, so "Eigntlich" is reserved for a global account. Please wait for resolution of bug 13507, until then there's nothing a bureaucrat can do. Patrícia ^msg 17:04, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see the message box at the top of this page, your global SUL account can be unlinked if you visit m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation to request it. Then get the renames needed done, then relink. Hope that helps. ++Lar: t/c 23:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ematsu to Epinheiro

I wish to unify all my wiki accounts. Ematsu 11:43, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --Patrícia ^msg 14:00, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

See here in pt :) Ematsu 11:20, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Não deu para renomear, Eduardo. Já deves ter activado o login único e por isso o nome Epinheiro está reservado (por ti) para uma conta global. Os burocratas não conseguem renomear usuários depois de ser activado o SUL. Terás de esperar pela resolução do bug 13507 antes de procedermos a esta renomeação. Patrícia ^msg 11:50, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Já me aconteceu o mesmo na "óptica do burocrata". Vamos tomar um café? Doem-me as pernas :) Ematsu 13:40, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see the message box at the top of this page, your global SUL account can be unlinked if you visit m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation to request it. Then get the renames needed done, then relink. Hope that helps. ++Lar: t/c 23:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] IDRex → REX

• Current name: IDRex (talk • contr)
• New name: REX
• Reason: SUL (Sysop at id.wiki - see: id.wiki listusers) IDRex 01:58, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) --Patrícia ^msg 09:28, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Hi, please refer to this link. Thanks :) IDRex 13:34, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

It's not possible to rename your account because of bugzilla:13507. --EugeneZelenko 14:22, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

I see. Then waiting... :D IDRex 01:15, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Please see the message box at the top of this page, your global SUL account can be unlinked if you visit m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation to request it. Then get the renames needed done, then relink. Hope that helps. ++Lar: t/c 23:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Accounts with useful contributions

[edit] User:Woodym555 to User:Woody

Hi, I am a sysop on the English Wikipedia and would like to get the account usurped for SUL reasons. Woody (talk • contribs) has three contributions here. Diff confirming I am Woody on English Wikipedia. Thanks. Woodym555 17:19, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

User:Woody has useful contributions. --EugeneZelenko 15:34, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Woody (talk • contribs) has three uploads to commons and no edits on any other project. I would be happy to go round and change the sig on those three images that they have contributed. I would also be happy to have some sort of template on my page indicating the name change. I have been unable to contact "woody". What else can I do? Woodym555 08:15, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

CheckUsage is currently down, but if you could check the usage of those images. If they're used on other projects, then a disambiguation notice on your user and talk pages (if this rename pulls through) would be essential, as there would be a chance the images are being used off Wikimedia (and thus attribution is required). giggy _(:O) 08:36, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Checked Usage; non of his images appeared to be used, so it's unlikely there would be attribution problems (IMO). 'Crats; use your judgement. giggy _(:O) 10:52, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

There is still the problem of putative reuse of media outside Wikimedia projects. We're holding these requests until we come to terms on what we should do with them. See Commons:Village pump#Usurp or not usurp accounts with useful contributions. Patrícia ^msg 15:21, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Daniel.Bryant to Daniel

I spoke with Lar a while ago, and he said it might be fine if I requested to usurp User:Daniel, who hasn't edited since mid-2006. I am Daniel on enwp (administrator), enwn (administrator), OTRS etc. etc, and am in control of the SUL for "Daniel". Thanks, Daniel (talk) 00:06, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

User:Daniel has useful contributions here. I think you should ask this user permission to take name. --EugeneZelenko 15:22, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

The user has not edited since mid-2006. Email correspondance (using emailuser on another project) has not been replied to; I emailed him in late 2007 and then again earlier this week. Thanks, Daniel (talk) 22:48, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Per discussion with PatriciaR, I have left a note, and we will wait "a sufficient period of time" before acting here either way. If there's a holding pen or similar for ones like this, please move it to there on my behalf :) Thanks, Daniel (talk) 22:56, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I still don't think that renaming is good idea. Please participate in Commons:Village pump#Usurp or not usurp accounts with useful contributions. --EugeneZelenko 15:09, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Carcharoth (Commons) to Carcharoth

I am en:User:Carcharoth (admin and 35,000+ edits), and I registered User:Carcharoth (Commons) here in January 2007 (have uploaded 35 pics and have made just over 150 edits so far, mainly asking questions and making a few comments here and there), but with the start of single user log-in, I need to sort out who has what name here on Commons before I can go ahead with creating a global account. I get the impression from the above that usurption only happens if an account has no edits, but maybe the advent of SUL will change this? User:Carcharoth (which is not me) has made edits and uploads here (see Special:Contributions/Carcharoth and User talk:Carcharoth, 18 edits to upload 18 pictures, plus 7 deleted pics, last edit-upload in August 2007, first edit-upload was in November 2006). I haven't tried contacting User:Carcharoth (his name seems to be in the upload descriptions). Possibly, based on the French edit summaries and this, there is a connection with fr:Utilisateur:Carcharoth, but again, I would need to make contact to ask that kind of question (presuming that is an acceptable question to ask). These are the only two name clashes I need to resolve before going ahead with creating a global account (the other 'accounts' on other wikis are phantom 'transwikiied' edits). Should I attempt to contact User:Carcharoth first on his user talk page (his e-mail is not enabled). I would be happy to do that, but is it best if someone else does that? Carcharoth (Commons) 01:51, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

From the looks of the fr.wikipedia userpage, the user has left. Besides that, could you please link to a diff of a dummy edit stating your identity on your en.wikipedia userpage? Thanks, 哦，是吗？(О кириллицей) 02:49, 26 March 2008 (GMT)

Will this (today) and this (back in January 2007) do? Corresponding edits over here are this (today) and this (back in January 2007). I'd still be happy to contact the user in question and wait to see if they reply, but from the French Wikipedia user page, does it look like they have left (my French isn't good enough for that)? OK. I stuck it in a tranlsation engine, and it looks like they did leave, but I would note that if they are the same person, they uploaded a picture here on Commons in August 2007, so they didn't leave completely. But that is the only edit/upload on either project in over a year, unless there are deleted edits. I'm in no rush, so please feel free to try and contact the user, or ask me to contact them. Just let me know how long I should give for them to respond, or if you would prefer to handle things differently. Carcharoth (Commons) 08:48, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

User:Carcharoth has useful contributions here. I think you should ask this user permission to take name. --EugeneZelenko 15:29, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. In one of my other replies above, I said "please feel free to try and contact the user, or ask me to contact them." I agree with you that it is best to contact users and ask them in cases like this, and once my other questions have been cleared up I will do so by leaving a note on his talk page (his e-mail address is not enabled). One concern I have is how to ask this sort of thing politely. Is there a standard way to ask "can I have your name?" that will cause least offence and not come across as demanding or rude? In some ways I think having intermediaries (the bureaucrats?) ask this sort of question might be best to avoid conflict, but if the standard here is for individuals to make their own approaches, I will do that. I will wait for a reply on that before asking him. One more thing. Given his low levels of activity, would you be able to answer another of my questions: "how long I should give for [him] to respond"? Thanks. Carcharoth (Commons) 16:05, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

An update. Since I don't speak French, User:Blinking Spirit (who is fr:Utilisatrice:Esprit Fugace, a bureaucrat at the French Wikipedia) has kindly left this message (for the Commons account for Carcharoth) and this message (for the French Wikipedia account for Carcharoth). I'll watch to see what happens here, but I think I've done as much as I can. If someone could give me some idea of when a definitive answer will be given, I'd be grateful, as if the usurption request fails, I'll go ahead and activate my global account anyway (I was hoping to get this sorted out before then, but if not, no problem). Thanks. Carcharoth (Commons) 01:02, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Usurpation of Michelet by Micheletb

Hello. I have ~ 15000 edits on fr:wikipedia under the username fr:utilisateur:Michelet, and would like to usurp the same username on Commons (where I am admin) because of SUL - I would like to use "Michelet" in all wiki. I asked es:user:Michelet a couple of months ago but never recieved any answer. Is something possible? Thanks in advance. Michelet-密是力 20:35, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Personally, I am willing to do this usurpation request but there should be some effort to contact the user before, and ask if he doesn't mind being renamed. Could you please do so through his talk page, since he does not have enabled e-mail? If there is no reply in a couple of weeks, I'd be inclined to do the rename. Cheers, Patrícia ^msg 23:06, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

There has been some effort! I tried to reach him through his Spanish talk page in august 2007 and doubled it by e-mail, but had no reply. Apparently, this user seldom contributes on es:special:Contributions/Michelet, his home wiki, and does not reply on his discussion page even in Spanish... Well, I can double the message on his Commons user page, of course (done); but since he seems to have had no activity on Commons since june 06, I can hardly expect any reply down here. Michelet-密是力 06:30, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't think that renaming is good idea. Please participate in Commons:Village pump#Usurp or not usurp accounts with useful contributions. --EugeneZelenko 15:07, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Kju (de)" to "Kju"

My account unification is blocked by the user "Kju" here. This user has only made one significant edit: He uploaded a picture which he downloaded from flickr (it was not made by this user). I see that you are hesitant renaming accounts with edits, but i believe that due to SUL a rename needs to be done at some point in the future anyway. Please note: My account is currently unified (with the exception of commons), so if you are willing to free the user "Kju" here for me, i will need to have the account deunified first (which is FYI now possible). Just let me know if you are willing to do. -- Kju (de) 23:33, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Current Usurpation requests

Occasionally, someone will request to be renamed to an account that exists (has been registered) but has not made any edits. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

[edit] Agony-fi to Agony

Hi, I'm fiwiki & fiwikibooks admin and I request username change to Agony (no visible edits, no disussion about user) due ongoing SUL thank you Just noticed that this request cannot be done because of bug 13507... --Agony-fi 06:58, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm afraid so if you have activated SUL already. Let's wait for that bug resolution :). Patrícia ^msg 18:54, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

You can request SUL deletion (for the purpose of this rename) at m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation. giggy _(:O) 01:04, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Usurpation of User:GoEThe by User:GoEThe1

Hi, I would like to usurp the account User:Goethe because it has only two edits and my name in english wikipedia is en:User:GoEThe. I posted a cross link there to let you know that this request is legit ([1]). Thanks! GoEThe1 13:59, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

If you want same name on all wikis, you should ask rename to User:GoEThe. --EugeneZelenko 14:52, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

That IS what I want, but that account does not exist, and the system does not allow me to create this account because it is too similar to User:Goethe. I thought this was the proper procedure. If not, please let me know what I should do! GoEThe1 14:56, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

An admin can create the account for you and mail you the PW, or we could do it by a couple of moves. Mail me on en:wp from your account there and I can mail you the password back. I decided that just creating it is easiest, so I have created User:GoEThe Is that what you want, or do you wnat your current account renamed to that one? Your current account DOES have some contributions. Please advise. (The crosslink checks out fine, so any 'crat can do it for you if you want...) ++Lar: t/c 21:18, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Is this sorted? [2] No rename needed? Patrícia ^msg 19:47, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

I believe it is, the new account was created, and password sent. ++Lar: t/c 01:18, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] HohesC to User:César

Can anybody rename my account to User:César? The last one is reserved by User:Céréales Killer (only 1 edit, reserved as Redirect). I'm operating under the same name as an admin in German WP (see de:Benutzer:César). Why I'm writing as IP? I've also forgotten my Password. Is it possible to get a new one via email (I applied for a new password and I got it but it doesn't work anymore). Thanks in advance for your help. --130.133.8.114 09:48, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Could you crosslink from another account where you have this id (from that account, on that wiki, post saying this is you here, perhaps on your user page) and post a diff to it? Thanks. Or give a ref to your WikiMatrix if you have one. (see m:User:Lar/WikiMatrix for an example) . In other words, can you link to this claimed username from you de account, and also to this usurp request here...just to verify that it's you. That won't guarantee the rename, but it will make it easier. giggy _(:O) 11:49, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

::Something like that? --130.133.8.114 13:44, 1 May 2008 (UTC) Another try with the new password was successful. Then there is only the question mark behind the usurp. Greetings from Germany --HohesC 13:55, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

I renamed User:César to User:César (usurped) but can't rename User:HohesC to User:César because of bugzilla:13507. Please visit m:Steward_requests/SUL_requests#Requests_for_usurpation and delete SUL to proceed furhter. --EugeneZelenko 14:57, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Astronaut11 to Astronaut

My username (on English Wikipedia) is usually Astronaut, but here on Commons I find that username has already been created and used just once to upload a single image back in May 2006 (and that image is used only on a user's page on the Greek Wikipedia). So, would it be possible to rename Astronaut11 to Astronaut? ... here is a cross-link to help prove that I really am Astronaut Many thanks, Astronaut11 14:02, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

Done User:Astronaut was renamed to User:Astronaut (usurped) and User:Astronaut11 was renamed to User:Astronaut. --EugeneZelenko 14:57, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. Astronaut 15:06, 9 May 2008 (UTC)