Ask for a nickname in users-admin; Was: Should Short really be username when creating a user in users-admin

[Thomas Templin]

Am So, 28. Februar 2010 03:00:48 schrieb Charlie Kravetz:
> On Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:25:06 -0700
> 
> Kyle Law <tuxmaster at geekstogo.com> wrote:
> > I have search for existing discussion on this list, system-tools-list
> > discussion upstream and looked for a bug both in launchpad and upstream.
> > I see no discussion on this issue.
> > 
> > When you go to create a new user in lucid using users-admin part of the
> > gnome-system-tools package. It asks you Short Name: In my opinion this
> > should be left to username like it was in all previous releases.
> > Shortname would not only be confusing for users but it is
> > inconsistent.
[...]
> 
> I agree with you. "username" is more descriptive then "short name". It
> is also easier to tell a new person to look you your home, it is under
> your USER, than to tell them to look in your SHORT name. We use $USER
> in programs, but I don't know if any use a variable called $SHORT ?

I would vote for 
    'Login Name'   (DE_de: 'Anmelde Name')
  instead of 
    'Short Name'   (DE_de: 'Kurzer Name'; 
                           which in fact is incorrect it should be 'Kurzname')
and also for 
    'Full Name'      (DE_de: 'Vollständiger Name')
  or better
    'Name Surname' (DE_de: 'Name Nachname')
  instead of 
    'Name'            (DE_de: 'Name')


Plus, a whishlist / point to discuss

* ask  for a nickname in  users-admin?

I had a discussion with Alessio Treglia <quadrispro at ubuntu.com>, author of 
nautilus-pastebin (n-pb) on the pos and cons of using the login name or a 
nickname in n-pb. N-pb uses the login name by default wich is not what users 
do when they register themself to such services. Most of them prefer a 
nickname over their login name.

There are more and more applications / use-cases which make use of nicknames. 
E.G. Launchpad and other web based registrations are done with a nickname, so 
are irc and many others. People neither tend to use their login names here nor 
their name surname. Login names are seen as very private by most people.

What in the end makes it worth to discuss if it might be of interest having a 
nickname aside (or maybe instead) the office address, phone number, ... which 
may be used for web based registration as in nautilus-pastebin and launchpad.

regards,
thomas