Guild Wars 2

I just logged on, and my name is acount name is “Arty Roman Sofa.5042”. That is not and has never been my account name!!! I have a google authenticator on my account, so I don’t think someone could have hacked me. I have all my stuff still, so I’m quite confused. My friend says that he can still see my normal account name in the guild pane. I don’t know what to do…

Someone found your old name inaproprate and reported it so then a mod anagramed it for you.

Is there any way to challenge that?

You could write a support ticket but I think 99.9% of the Jane changes turn out to be legit name changes.

I believe it is rather negligent to change my account name without notifying me at all. I did not receive an email or any form of contact, and as such have spent the last few hours trying to find and fix any security issues because I assumed this had been done by someone else on my account. I would have appreciated a message saying that it was an official change so I did not have to panic.

My account name was Satan For Mayor.6571. My Guild Wars 1 character was named Satan For Mayor, and I have become affiliated with that name in my guild and through players in the in game community. I would prefer to not have to re-establish a new name with my in game comrades, when I have used this name on Arenanet and NCSoft games for over 6 years. As far as religious tolerance, the name “Satan For Mayor” does not condone or offend the Christian religion any more than naming the antagonist of your game “Zhaitan,” which is clearly a reference to the Arabic word for Satan, Shaitan. Any person of Islamic faith would find just as much offense in “Zhaitan” as a Christian would in “Satan For Mayor.” As it so happens, I am not Satanic and the name stemmed from a particularly troubling mayoral election in my city at the time of my Guild Wars 1 character’s creation. If my name must be changed to Arty Roman Sofa, I fully expect Zhaitan’s name to become Naithaz.

I suggest you read some of that http://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal
As you mentioned your previous name, it seems clear why somebody reported it and why Anet had to act.

For the rest of your suggestions, I suggest to post it as suggestions.

I’m trying to post something that doesn’t come across wrong. If you are going to ban names of fictional beings that might offend someone, you are going to ban a lot of names.

In fact necromancers are in general mostly considered to be evil and the mere existence of the class could be offensive to some people.

I honestly have difficulty understanding the Lucifer/Satan banning. I can understand banning the name of a real person who caused pain and suffering in the world – like Hitler. But of fictional beings?

Katz.5143:

I’m trying to post something that doesn’t come across wrong. If you are going to ban names of fictional beings that might offend someone, you are going to ban a lot of names.

In fact necromancers are in general mostly considered to be evil and the mere existence of the class could be offensive to some people.

I honestly have difficulty understanding the Lucifer/Satan banning. I can understand banning the name of a real person who caused pain and suffering in the world – like Hitler. But of fictional beings?

Katz, while you may think of it as a “fictional being” (and personally I agree) millions around the world do not share your opinion. But to the point, Anet’s naming policy clearly states

“We do not permit names that:
•Reference religious or historical figures.”

That’s pretty clear. The Op’s name violated the policy and there is no arguing with that. I do agree that the OP should have been given a chance to change the name himself or atleast pick his own. Names in online games are a very personnal thing to many players and should not be taken lightly by the devs.

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

I do agree that the OP should have been given a chance to change the name himself or atleast pick his own. Names in online games are a very personnal thing to many players and should not be taken lightly by the devs.

He has that right. His display name cannot be changed by him, so it has to be changed by support.

I still don’t think it’s fair that I received no warning or even acknowledgement that Anet had changed it. An in game email would have been nice, as I said, so I didn’t have to think I had been hacked. I really wish this had come up earlier, since I’ve had the name for more than 6 years. My GW1 main had that name, I linked my accounts no problem, and I named my new account that. Especially considering that it wasn’t even a character name, only an account name, I find it a little excessive. I understand I can file to change it now, but I had to come to the forums and get a response from another player, not a dev, to figure that out.

Their naming guide lines also seem a little vague. For example, does “Michael” count as a reference to a real life name? And I know of a catering and restaurant business titled “Simple Simon” (yes actually). If they had trademarked that name for their business, is that a violation? If I was to name my account “ILoveMozart” would that be a violation, with W.A. Mozart being a historical figure? And if my real name was Jesus, is it inappropriate for my account to include Jesus in it? There are just too many ways to interpret it. I would also like to point out that I do understand that it says “religious and historical figures” and that my name clearly was in violation.

And Katz has a point that even things like necromancers could be considered religious figures, like the Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:3–25). The rules clearly state that “We do not permit names that… use misspellings or alternative spellings of names that violate any of the above rules.” Zhaitan is CLEARLY and alternative spelling of Shaitan. How did Anet not violate their own rule? I would seriously like this cleared up.

All in all, there is a very fine line between religious “tolerance” and religious discrimination. In which category does censorship fall under?

For the record, the majority of those questions were intended as rhetorical, and I certainly do not expect an answer for each one. What I would appreciate a response too, however, is the in game notification email for whoever this happens to next, and the Zhaitan – Shaitan affair.

Your warning was the terms of service. And claiming Anet broke their own rules does not get you off the hook. And I highly doubt they will respond to what you are asking. Step down from your high horse, you broke the rules, and complaining about what Anet chose as a name from a dragon isn’t going to get your name back.