2 questions concerning illegal names on game!

[David]

1.) A few of my friends on POTCO, have told me that it is illegal to have a pirate name such as "Michael", "Sammy", "Drew", "Steven" etc. and that you should have a pirate with two names such as "Rachel Foulfoote", "Meghan Mcmalley", "Sideburn Sal", "Christopher Swiftblade", etc.

Is it really against the rules? I started to believe them due to the fact that I dont see a whole lot of people with one name, and I see lots of players with two names.
I started to think that the people with one name were all getting banned lol.

2.) I know that having you first name as you pirate is against the rules, but how would they find out?

Could someone please tell me what they know concerning this. Thanks!

[wmah]

I don't think it is one bit true. As I used a name one the list and choose to not have the last name which the game does allow. The names I thought were not allowed would be ones with a title in it such as captain or other names based on a real or fictional character. I have seen names that do seem to be names of real life people but I will not say what they are in case someone from big D happens to read this.

[Maya Kate]

One name pirates are allowed, I have one. But you can't use any name that would give away your real life identity. They know because, unless you use the name list provided, you have to "wait" (while they check it out) for a name to be approved. Since you regestar before playing they can check to see if you are using your real name. This also applies to names that might infringe on copyrights or foul language.

[StellaInTheSky]

Well, as far as question 1 is concerned...I see plenty of single names. Just last night I crewed with a Max and a Kelly, I believe it was. There are lots of them running around. The rules only ask that a name be minimum of 3 letters.

PiratesOnline.com has the naming guidelines listed, and it seems they're kind of lax on enforcing them:
"No exact characters from the Pirates movies and no mixing of exact character names. For example: Elizabeth Turner, William Sparrow"
"No names with titles already in them. For example: Captain Anne, Mr. Smith"
You can see hundreds of these running around, as well as some that are...well, questionable in their meaning.

And I can only guess on question 2, but since the name has to be approved, I'm assuming the person/system that checks it can view your account and know you're trying to use your real name. But thats only a guess.

Hope that helped a little. =)

EDIT: Beaten to the punch by wmah and Maya Kate! LOL.

[AdmiralSavvy]

I have a guildmate as well as some friends whose first name in RL is the same as the pirate name and they've never had problems with the Disney moderation over pirate/RL names. A name is a name and almost every name that could be used in RL isn't illegal. I believe that Disney is being soft here because they say no RL names and yet at least 40% of POTCO uses RL names. One word names, keep this in mind, aren't always the pirate's RL name though, it could just be a name someone would want as an RL name.

For the ones that would be moderated, they must find out by, like what Maya Kate said, they check your registration info for traces of RL info that you could be putting onto the game. That's not limited to RL names though. Copyrights, inappropriate references, etc. are also considered in name approval, hence, the pre-made name list.

[Deadpool]

What do they do if you have an illegal name? Suspend/Ban? Name change?

[Chris]

I dont know my name is Chris thats all just Chris i didnt even have to request that name it was a pre-chosen name.

[combatlizzy]

With Big D being so strict on rules...I was shocked the other day when I saw a name...that I can't reveal here. Whattup with that Big D? There are children in this game and I found this very unhealthy. As far as one name Pirates, I have 2 of them...

[Bartholomew Foulsteel]

When you see that you can report them. One of the reportig options is based on improper naming.

[combatlizzy]

Didn't no that Boss...but wonder how it got past Big D initially?

[Bartholomew Foulsteel]

Clueless Morgan was reviewing that day.

I don't know about those guys--seems to be straightforward--No using your RL name. No using Disney names. No using Mixed Disney names. No titles in maes. No rude or non-PG names.

However, some of these guys have NO CLUE what the guidelines are! I had Black Bart Roberts denied on one day, then approved on another day--for TWO PIRATES. There is nothing that says you can't use historical names, but some guys there think it's against the rules.

So I figure when I see some of these names, the guy who was reviewing names THAT DAY was either clueless, stupid, or inattentive. Perhaps all three.

[Sarah]

All my pirates, save Sarah (a very real life name...and on the list) are true historical figures. Never had a problem. Guess it depends on which filter is running the show at the time of name submission.

As far as using RL names being against the rules, I'm sorry, but there are far too many Bob's in the world for it to be an issue IMO. Now If I tried to get my name through as "Mrs. This is my real name and I live at this address, and by the way, here's my number"...well sure...problem there. Some of the more creative names players have come up with are 99% of the time really funny (anyone ever run across one of the many MiniMe's? I even saw one that looks just like him, LOL). Yes, there are some that are down right vulgar, but D should have been smart enough not to let them pass in the first place...and so some got through, that's why you have a report option.

[Dr. Zeppers]

Originally Posted by Sarah

All my pirates, save Sarah (a very real life name...and on the list) are true historical figures. Never had a problem. Guess it depends on which filter is running the show at the time of name submission.

Yet, they would not allow me to use Edward Teach after multiple attempts (Blackbeards real name).

It does seem that thier review staff varies, and some stick to the letter of the rule, and others apply it towards what it was intended for. If theres no harm intended one may allow it for example. Trying to prohibit "Captain" in a pirate game, with pirate ships is well.. good luck with that.

I have a few names that I had to ask for more than once before I was granted them. I wont mention them further.. hehe. But love my pirates.

[Red Nations]

One name pirates are allowed, I have one. But you can't use any name that would give away your real life identity. They know because, unless you use the name list provided, you have to "wait" (while they check it out) for a name to be approved. Since you regestar before playing they can check to see if you are using your real name. This also applies to names that might infringe on copyrights or foul language.

Maya pretty well nailed it RL first names aren't against the rules unless you tried to combine them with your RL last name.

I have a guild which includes my RL Fiance, and my adult Son and Daughter as members. All of us use our RL first names and we use the name of my families home town as our last name. Nothing there that can directly identify us. Had more trouble getting our guild name approved than we did with our pirate names. My first choice of a guild name " Red Clay Nation" was apparently allready taken. Connected with the last name of our pirates would have identified us as Cherokee's but not personally identified us. I ended up choosing "Red Nations" as our guild name.

[TooHip]

I can't believe no one has linked Disneys avatar naming guidelines:

http://apps.pirates.go.com/pirates/v...approvals.html


Avatar Naming Guidelines:

• No foul language
• No inappropriate mixed case. For example: Neither JoePirate nor joEpiRAte. Joe McPirate is ok.
• No Disney characters or other cartoon characters
• No exact characters from the Pirates movies and no mixing of exact character names. For example: Elizabeth Turner, William Sparrow
• No sentences
• Names must be at least three letters
• No names that imply that you're a Disney employee
• No names with titles already in them. For example: Captain Anne, Mr. Smith
• No copyrighted names
• No non-English words
• No religious names
• No references to anything illegal
• Apostrophes, Periods and Dashes are the only punctuation/symbols allowed, but must be separated by a letter.
• No personally identifiable information. For example, you can't use your own name

Aside from maybe the last one, I dont see anything in there that would exclude any the examples given. In my opinion a real first name by itself, whether or not it's actually a players real first name, is far from personally identifiable information.