Member Registration Numbers?

[stevemaury]

Why would one care to find the userid of a name no longer in existence? In your example, all the usernames for that userid, prior to Rathburn, no longer appear anywhere on the board.

[P_I]

all the usernames for that userid, prior to Rathburn, no longer appear anywhere on the board.

There can be remnants of previous usernames in quoted posts.

Otherwise I generally concur with the general tone of the replies, this requires an extension and the OP needs to clearly define the specific requirements they need it to provide.

[warmweer]

I think it's not a complicated extension to make (disclaimer: for experienced extension writers).
All it really requires (as data) is an extra log table to store the username changes, I suspect including user_id, username, and the datetime on which the username change was made. (the reason for the extra table is that logs can be deleted).
Creating that extra table is a piece of cake.
Inserting the relevant data (when the event occurs) shouldn't be all that difficult, in fact a copy of the existing phpbb_log could be used.
Creating the search feature and showing the result (user_id, username, datetime of username change) is certainly feasible for an experienced extension writer.
Fact is that user_id doesn't change so the semblance of "anonimity" is nothing more than a semblance.
Such an extension isn't really useful to the general phpBB public and the data can easily be stored in another system (spreadsheet/database, even a text document) so I don't see this being developed as a "service" to phpBB (perhaps with a financial incentive: which brings us to the Wanted forum

There can be remnants of previous usernames in quoted posts.

Exactly: a quote made before the username change will point to the previous username.

[Aevik]

Why not just create an extension that displays all the changed nicknames of the users?

This would be even more useful actually

Why would one care to find the userid of a name no longer in existence? In your example, all the usernames for that userid, prior to Rathburn, no longer appear anywhere on the board.

Previous usernames displayed in posts would be overwritten after changes, so they would no longer be searchable by former usernames.
We need a cross-referenced ACP database of user ID numbers + all usernames associated with each number.

So this is an extension request for the Wanted Forum?

I would expect username quotes in archive posts to automatically update with each name change.
is this not the case?

[5hocK]

I'm curious why users might be changing their usernames a few times a day?
I'd be constantly forgetting my own name!

[warmweer]

Previous usernames displayed in posts would be overwritten after changes

That implies that the moderators have to run through all posts where that username is mentioned and do the edits ... as...
a) usernames typed by members are not affected by a username change,
b) if a user is quoted before the username change, the quoted username is NOT changed to the new username. This implies that with each username change, all quotes remain as they were

We need a cross-referenced ACP database of user ID numbers + all usernames associated with each number.

2 very easy solutions

• The easy solution is to make a hidden forum accessible by your moderators in which you (and the moderators) can enter the data. It's not that much work (it could even be in table format) and you can define the format and sort order.
• Slightly more work but still simple: create an online spreadsheet (or database) to store that data and give your moderators access to that.

I would expect username quotes in archive posts to automatically update with each name change.
is this not the case?

P.I. and or Kailey mentioned it, and I confirmed it (testboards on PWS are perfect for trying out various things).

I even linked the testboard database in Access and wrote some VB to automatically select phpbb_log entries referencing username changes and copy those into a separate table. Once you've got that table it can be queried to your heart's delight and data can easily be copied into a post (manually copy/paste).

[Aevik]

I'm curious why users might be changing their usernames a few times a day?
I'd be constantly forgetting my own name!

Username changes may not occur so often on forum sites (or ever on many forum sites),
however -- as I pointed out previously -- this has nothing to do with a forum site,
it's a social media community site which just happens to be built on modified phpBB software.

All the conventions which apply to forum sites have no relevance in this case.
In social media sites, you find (mostly younger) members who often get bored with a username, or think of a better name
shortly after registering, and then periodically change over time. It's impossible to predict the frequency or number of changes,
or which users are most likely to change name. If there are only a few members -- this would be trivial, but with thousands of members
it becomes unmanageable.

There is nothing for it other than logging the changes, and automatically notifying Admin of the changes.

testboards on PWS? what does PWS stand for exactly?

I like the suggestion of an extra log table storing username changes, including user_id number, username, and the date-time on which the username change was made, where a copy of the existing phpbb_log could be used.

I need to compose an extension request with all elements of the extension project clearly defined.
so I will sift through all these proposals, and include the most effective elements and methods of achieving them,

Many thanks for all the suggestions!

[5hocK]

Regardless of what the board is used for, what is the point of knowing someone's previous names?

[Aevik]

Regardless of what the board is used for, what is the point of knowing someone's previous names?

Identity tracking

These are not just users on a community site, they are also customers of our eCommerce marketplace,
so we need to know who is who, what have they ordered, what is their shipping address?
It's only possible by correlating usernames with usernumbers which never change.
Customer numbers also need to be cross referenced with usernames and user ID numbers.

These are not relevant factors on a common forum site. It's a completely different proposition altogether.

[5hocK]

Is the ecommerce platform also phpBB? Same database?

[Brf]

What happens when a user reuses a different user's previous name?

[Aevik]

Is the ecommerce platform also phpBB? Same database?

At the moment the eCommerce site is fully html, for flexibility.
It may be scaled up later using cubecart, which is php based. But it would not be the same database.

What happens when a user reuses a different user's previous name?

That would not be permitted. Another good reason for tracking changes.
If this would happen - the username would be reverted, and the former name of the other user blocked in the ACP.

[5hocK]

That would not be permitted. Another good reason for tracking changes.
If this would happen - the username would be reverted, and the former name of the other user blocked in the ACP.

Would this be manually done? Alot of work with 10s of thousands of users.
New users registering would need their names checking against previously used names too.

[Aevik]

That would not be permitted. Another good reason for tracking changes.
If this would happen - the username would be reverted, and the former name of the other user blocked in the ACP.

Would this be manually done? Alot of work with 10s of thousands of users.
New users registering would need their names checking against previously used names too.

Exactly why we need a tracking system, and a team to manage it.

[5hocK]

Why not request an extension that stops usernames being changed on previous posts. So the new username begins on the next post?