Discord will require users to use a unique username

Discord will let users set unique usernames, eliminating the need to use the four-digit distinction code. Discord chooses this because it says it has become too complicated for users to remember and share their names.

In addition to the fact that users all have to come up with a unique username, case sensitivity is also being abolished. The new username can only contain lowercase letters, numbers and two special characters. In addition, users can enter a screen name, just as is the case with Twitter. The latter does not have to be unique and comply with special rules. Users may change their screen name at any time.

‘In the coming weeks’ to get Discord users the ability to choose their new username. Users who have been registered the longest will be the first to have the opportunity to change their name. The transition period lasts several months. The default screen name is the current username, minus the four-digit code at the end. The original username including the four-digit code still serves as an alias. This means that users can still be found by searching for this name.

Discord initially chose to let users use almost any username, regardless of whether it is already in use, because the application was then mainly used for friends to chat with each other on a shared server. When Discord moved away from this, four numbers were added to the end of each username, the so-called ‘discriminator’, to distinguish the same names from each other. However, according to the social medium, this made it very difficult to look up users. Discord says that almost half of friend requests fail because the wrong username is entered, and the company wanted to come up with a solution for that.