Bitcoin Forum

The forum system that bitcointalk uses (SMF) has the option for users to edit their display name. But bitcointalk disabled it since it can be used by trolls/scammers to avoid detection. But this is a problem for those who legitimately wish to change their name. For instance:

If you've created a new bitcoin application, you may want to change your username to that application name. But if you create a new account, you can't keep your post count and forum reputation. That'll make people less likely to trust your app. Editing your display name would allow you to carry on with the new name while keeping your reputation.
If you create a new account, you're stuck in the newbie forum until you've spent 4 hours browsing under the new account.

When asking to an admin, he showed his concerns that re-enabling the ability to change your account display name would aid the trolls/scammers again. But I think this can be setup in a way to avoid that. For one, when someone is noticed as a scammer, they already get hit with the forum position of "SCAMMER", and changing their name won't effect that. It will still display next to all their posts. Secondly, altering display name could be enabled for a few days at a time every few months. A notice would show up at the top, telling everyone they have the next 48 hours to change their name if they so wish. Once that time is up, the feature is disabled again. This will give everyone enough time to make the change, while keeping the forums safe from misuse since we only have to worry about it for a few days every few months.

So fellow members, what do you think?

/thread

Whoa, that's cool. I didn't even see that thread. Thanks.