Ask HN: Should usernames have a minimum length?
Some sites don't allow users to select usernames less than 5 or 6 characters in length. Is there a good reason for this?
Some sites don't allow users to select usernames less than 5 or 6 characters in length. Is there a good reason for this?
Comments
The minimum length should be 1. Usernames with less characters pose implementation problems.
The only reason I know of is to make usernames as distinct as possible instead of user 'A' through 'Z' and then 'AB' through ZZ'. but yeah, 2 chars should be good enough. I dislike when i have to choose names like b0oooo or b0oooooooo just b/c i can't have b0o.
I would at least make it a minimum of 2 or 3 characters. Perhaps only to promote recognizable or comprehensible user names.
2 or 3 char names are great in my opinion. Think about how recognizable pg is around here.
Even with longer names, users can still pick names like zzyzx.