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I'm trying to register my Pathfinder Society characters, but each time I try, I get the message that the Avatar Name is already in use. I'm logged in to the same account I'm in now--I only have the one account. I have one character whose name has been accepted, however it's thrown off my character numbers. My characters I've played are registered in my sessions by my GMs, but I can't seem to register them in my player menu. Any help?
This dialog means that the name is being used as an alias or character, or is the avatar name of another paizo.com account. If you make a modification to the name (such as spelling or adding a number, for example), this should work for the purpose you are describing.
Character names, aliases and avatar names fall under the same general category in the system. It appears the name "Anika" is in use by another account.
This, of course, is a problem. Many, MANY, aliases and avatars have been created for on-line campaigns that have completed, for characters that were proposed-but-never-accepted, and so forth.
It would be very nice if there were a way to clean up aliases.
I think Gary Teter or another Paizo staffperson has said that the problem with deleting aliases entirely is that it royally borks the site archives, because it would mess up the posts made by the aliaes.
You CAN delete an alias if you've never posted with it.
And you can rename your alias up to the first some-number-I've-forgotten posts.
One way to help the "aliases that were proposed but never accepted" situation is to simply ask GMs who run PBPs to ask their applicants NOT to create an alias for a character until it has been accepted for a game. Instead, simply post your character sheet in a post under your default username (I do this myself simply because I do not want my own ridiculous backlog of aliases; I have enough floating around from games that fell apart, let alone to have to worry about unused ones).
Personally I always feel like people rather jump the gun when they do that anyway. This is of course asking people to make a quasi-cultural change to assist with a technical problem and is therefore unlikely, but if more people did it, it would help.
As for adjusting when a name is already taken, the general thing to do is simply spell the name differently (e.g., "Annika"), or add a surname or title ("Anika of Mercy Harbor"), where possible. While I have one alias myself I am unhappy with because I added a surname I disliked later (I really wanted her to be known by just her first name, and then the GM constantly insisted on calling her givenname-surname all the time) and thus know therefore that is not always a perfect solution, there are ways to deal with it when it happens.
I think Gary Teter or another Paizo staffperson has said that the problem with deleting aliases entirely is that it royally borks the site archives, because it would mess up the posts made by the aliaes.
You CAN delete an alias if you've never posted with it.
And you can rename your alias up to the first some-number-I've-forgotten posts.
Translation: No, you can't delete aliases.
Personally I always feel like people rather jump the gun when they do that anyway. This is of course asking people to make a quasi-cultural change to assist with a technical problem
Yeah, I'll get on that. As a colleague of mine so memorably expressed it, "applying a cultural fix to a technical problem" is on my bucket list, right between "ride a unicorn into battle" and "be helped promptly and efficiently by the first bureaucrat I contact about a given problem".
Which is why I keep suggesting that the technical folks should apply a technical fix. (From a DB standpoint, it's not that difficult; the question is just in which version of the software the functionality will be available without hacking the DB or taking it down for fifteen minutes.)
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Translation: No, you can't delete aliases.I think Gary Teter or another Paizo staffperson has said that the problem with deleting aliases entirely is that it royally borks the site archives, because it would mess up the posts made by the aliaes.
You CAN delete an alias if you've never posted with it.
And you can rename your alias up to the first some-number-I've-forgotten posts.
No, because I have created an alias I then never posted with, and then was able to delete it. So having looked at one of my own aliases, pressed the delete button, and seen it go away, I know that your translation is inaccurate from first hand experience.
Accurately, you cannot delete aliases you actually post with.
One way to help the "aliases that were proposed but never accepted" situation is to simply ask GMs who run PBPs to ask their applicants NOT to create an alias for a character until it has been accepted for a game. Instead, simply post your character sheet in a post under your default username (I do this myself simply because I do not want my own ridiculous backlog of aliases; I have enough floating around from games that fell apart, let alone to have to worry about unused ones).Personally I always feel like people rather jump the gun when they do that anyway. This is of course asking people to make a quasi-cultural change to assist with a technical problem and is therefore unlikely, but if more people did it, it would help.
Yeah, I'll get on that. As a colleague of mine so memorably expressed it, "applying a cultural fix to a technical problem" is on my bucket list, right between "ride a unicorn into battle" and "be helped promptly and efficiently by the first bureaucrat I contact about a given problem".
Which is why I keep suggesting that the technical folks should apply a technical fix. (From a DB standpoint, it's not that difficult; the question is just in which version of the software the functionality will be available without hacking the DB or taking it down for fifteen minutes.)
Readded my context. I did not say it was going to happen. We agree, in fact, that it is unlikely (highly, even). I said it was something we could do to try to do to help, while the issue exists. This does not preclude a technical fix from also eventually happening. Now, sure, my suggestion is likely to go nowhere. But even if one or two people take it up (for example, I can at least always follow my own advice even if no one else will), well then that's a few less extraneous aliases in the world.
And if the tech team never fixes it because they do not consider it a priority, or they feel it would make the board function differently from the way they want it to--or at least takes a very long time to get to fixing it while they are working on other things--then we are left with is suggesting behavioral changes on our parts to help with the situation (or going to another message board to play PBPs). The suggestions' effectiveness may be minimal, but they may be all we've got. We can say "the tech team should fix it" but if they don't want to or don't think they need to, then what next? Sure, we can whine at them until they change their mind, but I've generally found that a poor strategy regarding the Paizo staff, and less likely to be successful than even suggesting crazy and nearly impossible things like how we alter our pbp application system.
I can always choose to change what I do to help a situation; I can't force anyone else to change, and that includes the tech team. So, here: I will not create aliases unless I absolutely know they are going to get used. What you and everyone else does regarding the situation, including nothing, is not my lookout or my problem (especially since I don't actually care about the current alias system changing; if someone's taken my precious "Penelope Puddingbottom" name idea, I will live with having my character named "Penelope Pudding-Bottom." Not to discount the OP's frustration, just noting it is something workable with). If someone actually takes my advice, awesome. If they don't, the world still turns.
Also, just for the record, I have actually been helped promptly and efficiently by the first bureaucrat I contacted about a given problem. Once. Anything can happen once. (It even was at the MVA.)
I can't find it at the moment, but one of the Paizo staff posted the tech team's to-do list for stuff they need to get done. It is a very long list full of important things. Folks can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe "update the alias system to be slightly less irritating to some posters" is on it right after "ride a unicorn into battle."
If you passionately disagree enough with their priorities, I'd suggest emailing them with some concrete suggestions; I know you certainly have more than enough technical knowledge to provide useful insights on the matter. Which may do nothing, but you never know until you try.
Also, personally, I'd much rather the tech team work on stuff like, say, Paizo Game Space, than fiddle with the alias system. Or at least have that higher on their to do list.
Yeah, I'll get on that. As a colleague of mine so memorably expressed it, "applying a cultural fix to a technical problem" is on my bucket list, right between "ride a unicorn into battle" and "be helped promptly and efficiently by the first bureaucrat I contact about a given problem".
Well, I've done the second of those, at least.