Advice When Creating A Unique Universal Username

I have several usernames,

• mxcl
  
• makarakalax
  
• makaralax
  
• maximhowell
  
• maxim.howell
  
• max.howell

Yeah I rock.

The first I invented was mxcl. Now this seemed sensible, short, neat. However many sites/services require your username to be at least 6 characters. Bummer. Also it is four syllables to say, so it isn’t too short and sweet, as well as the fact that acronyms are always a staccato to say and don’t flow like real words do. Nobody knows how to spell it either. Also short usernames are often taken. People type random combinations into username boxes when they get frustrated. Hence something as bizarre as mxcl is often taken already when I get there!

Hence I came up with makarakalax (mak-a-rak-a-lax). Which when invented was hilarious for me and my girlfriend, so I picked it. Now the second lesson, pick one you can spell yourself! I registered for ebay as Makarakerlax. Damn. I registered for Xbox Live with makaralax, which is one aka too short. Also nobody has a clue how to pronounce it. Uno has been fun with Xbox Live and the headset (bundled with the console, yay to MS), “maaa-karaaally-ax?”, etc.

max.howell seems sensible, if boring. I confess I dislike using it because it is dull. Also there are other Max Howells in the world (damn you all!) so I can’t use it everywhere.

maxim.howell is mostly unique everywhere. But not everyone allows the ‘.’ so sometimes I’m maxhowell or maximhowell. Oh joy!

So, going on the principle that you want to use at most two different usernames across the entire Internet, my conclusions are:

1. 6 characters minimum
   
2. Only alpha characters, no exotics, no numerics
   
3. Not your name, you won’t always get it
   
4. Easy to spell
   
5. Easy to say
   
6. Memorable
   
7. Your backup should be your name, no fullstops/periods
   

Good luck! I’m still trying to think up a new universal username, years since I first needed one.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 15:09 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.