On 11/2/06, Neil Harris neil@tonal.clara.co.uk wrote:
Luiz,
I think that numbers-only usernames are, in general, a bad idea. However, all rules can have exceptions...
From a technical viewpoint, since the blocking only applies to registration, not use (already-registered names are "grandfathered"), it would always be possible to make a special exception for you on a one-time basis, either by quickly turning the blocking off then on again to let you register, by doing a quick temporary hack to the code to make an exception to this username, or even by poking the right values into the database by hand.
Short numbers (or other letterless strings) seem okay to me, and even really long ones can have sufficient mnemonic value to be potentially acceptable (e.g., leetspeak of some kind), subject to judgment of local admins. I would drop the letters requirement, myself.