--- Toby Bartels toby+wikipedia@math.ucr.edu That's neither here nor there when it comes to personal usernames. I have a great deal of faith in the wiki process these days -- more than I did when I first heard of it! ^_^
To make the argument that usernames are in some way different is the same as saying that they are special -- in what way are they special? Do they need to be protected? Are they under some different right, or sphere, where the rules that govern other Wikipedia aspects are separate? This argument works both ways-- you can say "why treat usernames so differently" if they are not "special".
The answer is obvious-- they are different, because we cant simply "edit" them-- we cant click change this username and presto-- it be wikified. Its among the few aspects of Wiki that are beyong wiki means, and yet are system-level in nature. Choosing a name is a system command, and not a wiki edit.
~S~
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