Are special characters not allowed in names anymore?

Hi all,

Having a bit of an issue with being asked to change my name everytime I log in to the game. Issue started last night after logging out for 1 hour then coming back however I was asked to change my name to log in.. I'm fairly bummed out about this as my character name is my "identity" in the community I'm part of. I thought it might have something to do with the special characters used in my name (originally Helterskèlter) however I changed it then to Helterskélter with no worries. Next time I logged in, another pop up requesting another name change..

I manage to get around it by changing with e is accented and whether it's a grave or acute accent but eventually I'll run out of combinations. Can anyone please show me if new rules have been implemented or am I experiencing some kind of bug? I'd love to get my original name back as it was my favourite configuration (makes the most sense)

I doubt it’s the special characters. The only thing I can think of is, as well as its more innocent meanings as a fairground ride and a Beatles song, helter skelter is also a term associated with Charles Manson.

@Stitch.1794 said:I doubt it’s the special characters. The only thing I can think of is, as well as its more innocent meanings as a fairground ride and a Beatles song, helter skelter is also a term associated with Charles Manson.

I thought that might be the case also however I've been using the name for years in GW2 (in it's first iteration with the accented e). I'm just so shocked it's only become an issue now?

The renames have most likely been caused by players reporting you for an offensive name. With his death recently, and news coverage of it, more people will be aware of significance of the term now, so players are more likely to see it as offensive and report it now.

@"Stitch.1794" said:The renames have most likely been caused by players reporting you for an offensive name. With his death recently, and news coverage of it, more people will be aware of significance of the term now, so players are more likely to see it as offensive and report it now.

I might have to contact support and see if this is the case - if so, I'm pretty bummed out about it. I'm know to be quite goofy in my guild under the nickname "Helty" so to lose that would feel like I'm losing my character's identity. Especially considering it's not blatantly offensive as it is no way intentionally relevant to the Manson topic - I just wanted it named after a Beatles song.. plus it sounds nice

Contact support. They are the only ones who can address the issue for you. Be prepared to ask for the issue to be escalated, as I strongly suspect the first person handling your ticket will not be empowered to make a decision about a name that carries some extra baggage.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:Contact support. They are the only ones who can address the issue for you. Be prepared to ask for the issue to be escalated, as I strongly suspect the first person handling your ticket will not be empowered to make a decision about a name that carries some extra baggage.

I support this. afaik, a name change is never enforced automatic just cause part of it has special characters. It is a disciplinary action (often with no percussion) for a name that is not allowed. If you want to know why this actions was taken, please contact support.

@Helterskelter.8490 said:

@"Stitch.1794" said:The renames have most likely been caused by players reporting you for an offensive name. With his death recently, and news coverage of it, more people will be aware of significance of the term now, so players are more likely to see it as offensive and report it now.

Pretty easy why not name yourself after your nickname?Helty or heltyskelty if you still wanna be smilar to your originial name

@Linken.6345 said:

@Helterskelter.8490 said:

@"Stitch.1794" said:The renames have most likely been caused by players reporting you for an offensive name. With his death recently, and news coverage of it, more people will be aware of significance of the term now, so players are more likely to see it as offensive and report it now.

I do not think this is advisable. Although we can only speculate on the reason, if Arenanet finds it offensive, they will also find creative alterations offensive. Let's say that Bigfoot is something deemed offensive. Then bigfooot would also be offensive.

Demand they let you keep the name. It means a rollercoaster and its a classic song. Charles Manson is a piece of shit .Don't give power to a deranged man by giving credence to his words. I deeply hope you get your name back.

Considering that Charles Manson recently died, there is a sudden spike in sensitivity about anything related to him. That is probably why this suddenly happened.

For some reason I always assumed if people were forced to change their name Anet would let them know why it's being done.

Otherwise I can imagine a lot of situations where people don't understand the problem and make the exact same mistake when fixing it because, like the OP, they assumed it was something different. There was a situation on the forum a while ago where someone was trying to get T I G G E R (Or something similar) and people were coming up with all kinds of reasons it might not be allowed - mainly that it could be copyrighted and it's similar to an offensive word, but it turned out it's simply that they don't allow G with spaces either side as part of stopping people impersonating GMs.

I agree it would be a good idea to contact Support and discuss it with them so you can agree on an acceptable name.

my characters names that have been locked until i got a ticket were - World of Warcrap & Marilyn Manson - both of which i made sure i could do and found i was in no violation as it was a band and not his real name. the warcrap wasnt in direct violation of copyright laws but more less a play on words. i got both uncensored. if you manage to make a name, contact support and tell them just to make sure so you can save yourself some trouble.

@"Lithril Ashwalker.6230" said:my characters names that have been locked until i got a ticket were - World of Warcrap & Marilyn Manson - both of which i made sure i could do and found i was in no violation as it was a band and not his real name. the warcrap wasnt in direct violation of copyright laws but more less a play on words. i got both uncensored. if you manage to make a name, contact support and tell them just to make sure so you can save yourself some trouble.

I suspect the first name was locked because someone thought it was (ahem) a crappy name, not because of the reference to some other MMO.

In the second case, I doubt copyright was the concern: there are well-established exceptions for parody/satire. The rules are in place to prevent people from unfair competition by use of the name. So another US fast-food joint can't be called "In-n-Out Burghers" (uses the name to sell more of the same things the original does), but it would be okay for a law firm specializing in help people become citizens, since "In 'n' Out" has an existence separately from restaurants. More likely, someone thought it was a C Manson reference (as in the OP's situation).

Thus it makes complete sense to me that both names were blocked and that both blocks were removed on appeal. The system is designed to reduce mistakes (not prevent them) and the appeals process is there to resolve such mistakes.

edit: added context

I don't think that speculating about the reason for the name change is not very productive. Support can tell what the reason was AND if they still stand behind that decission.

@mercury ranique.2170 said:I don't think that speculating about the reason for the name change is not very productive. Support can tell what the reason was AND if they still stand behind that decission.

Indeed; speculating about the reason is a fun diversion, nothing more. As always, the decision is up to ANet: convince them, not any of us.

(Although discussing it here can help one refine the wording of an appeal. In theory, anyhow. In practice, people who know how to work with support teams usually don't need our help while those who struggle with bureaucracy tend to reject suggestions from the peanut gallery here.)

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@"Lithril Ashwalker.6230" said:my characters names that have been locked until i got a ticket were - World of Warcrap & Marilyn Manson - both of which i made sure i could do and found i was in no violation as it was a band and not his real name. the warcrap wasnt in direct violation of copyright laws but more less a play on words. i got both uncensored. if you manage to make a name, contact support and tell them just to make sure so you can save yourself some trouble.

To be fair they'd be completely right, since the band/artist name is a reference to Charles Manson.

Also band or artists names are legally protected, since legally they're basically company names. Even if it's also the artists real name, and weirdly the person who holds the copyright is not necessarily the person whose name it is. (If in doubt see Tracii Guns.) But I think the rule about using them in GW2 is only there so if someone decided to sue they'd have to go after the individual player and not Anet because they've explicitly told you not to do it.

Come to think of it my private bank guild is named after a band, but I can't see that being an issue because very few people have even heard of them, and I have informal permission to use it.

@Danikat.8537 said:But I think the rule about using them in GW2 is only there so if someone decided to sue they'd have to go after the individual player and not Anet because they've explicitly told you not to do it.

I don't think an artist, as a legal entity or personally, can legally object to the use of a public name in a public setting as long as that name isn't being used to undermine the 'brand' (or make money off of it). ANet might want to stay on the nice side of entertainment lawyers, so they might make exceptions if they got a nastygram. But you (or I) aren't doing anything wrong if we name our toon Katy Perry etc. That's why people can cosplay Wonder Woman, but can't charge money for selling a Wonder Woman cosplay costume — the first is just the name, which isn't specially protected; the second makes money off the brand without permission.

But again, I'm speculating based on a tiny bit of personal experience, what I've seen published about court cases, and because even though I'm not a lawyer, I've seen one or two portrayed on TV.

In other words, I dunno if I'm more likely to be correct than anyone else posting here. In the end, it's still up to ANet.

how is it offensive?

Did something happen? I live under a rock lmao

@sephiroth.4217 said:Just some names I have had for years:That's not a sign that the name is acceptable to ANet, only that they haven't asked you to change it. If a name passes through the existing filters, then ANet doesn't check at all unless:

• Someone reports any name on your account
• Someone reports you for something else and it gives the moderation/gm team reason to consider other potential ToS issues.

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@sephiroth.4217 said:Just some names I have had for

years

:That's not a sign that the name is acceptable to ANet, only that they haven't asked you to change it. If a name passes through the existing filters, then ANet doesn't check at all unless:

• Someone reports any name on your account
• Someone reports you for something else and it gives the moderation/gm team reason to consider other potential ToS issues.

In that case I better delete those names, most only get used in PvP anyway.

@sephiroth.4217 said:

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@sephiroth.4217 said:Just some names I have had for

years

:That's not a sign that the name is acceptable to ANet, only that they haven't asked you to change it. If a name passes through the existing filters, then ANet doesn't check at all unless:

• Someone reports any name on your account
• Someone reports you for something else and it gives the moderation/gm team reason to consider other potential ToS issues.

Delete from the post? Can't hurt.(I doubt that any of them would get 'actioned', but no sense tempting Fate)

Update to my story - logged back in today and two of my characters (both sharing an iteration of the Helterskelter name) have been re-named to generic family-friendly names (eg. Fuzzy Pineapple)

Definitely will be chasing this up with support.. thats two name changes I'll have to purchase and still no clear reason given why I was forced to change name in the first place. Terrible customer relations in my opinion

Nope, swedish names are down the drain. Suffixes like le and los are only allowed capitalised. And names like 'Artagnan are straight up evil in anets eyes

@"Helterskelter.8490" said:Update to my story - logged back in today and two of my characters (both sharing an iteration of the Helterskelter name) have been re-named to generic family-friendly names (eg. Fuzzy Pineapple)Typically, they don't force a rename for a first time issue. It's usually only for repeat "violations" (from their point of view, of course). If you don't remember any previous name changes, it's worth asking them for previous dates. (Although I imagine if an account was suspended at some point for other things, they might be less "lenient." Not claiming that's what happened here; it's just a point of information.)

Definitely will be chasing this up with support.. thats two name changes I'll have to purchase and still no clear reason given why I was forced to change name in the first place. Terrible customer relations in my opinionDefinitely start a support ticket (just one, covering both changes). If you haven't gone through support before, here's what to expect:

• You'll get an automated email immediately confirming your issue has a ticket (along with a number); if you can't find it, check spam folders and filters etc.
• You'll get your first human response anywhere from hours to 2-3 days later (usually sooner, depending on their backlog; holidays usually are busieer).
• The first person to respond often isn't empowered to do anything more than follow their standard script. They might not be able to answer seemingly-reasonable questions, make seemingly-reasonable exceptions, or distinguish borderline cases.

Good luck and please let us know what you discover.