Editing Incubator escapee wiki:Username policy (section)

== Guidance for new users ==
{{UsernamePolicy}}{{shortcut|WP:NAMEGUIDE}}
Your username is a nickname that will identify your account and thereby all of your contributions to Wikipedia. It can be your real name if you so choose, but you should be aware of [[#Real names|the risks involved]] in editing under your real name before choosing to use or disclose your real name on Wikipedia. Wikipedia usernames are [[case sensitivity|case sensitive]], but the first letter is always automatically capitalized. By default, your username appears in your signature on posts to [[Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines|discussion pages]]. For further details on signatures and how to customize them, see [[Wikipedia:Signatures]].

You must keep in mind that, once chosen, a username cannot be easily changed, and changing your username doesn't hide your previous username from all of the edits that you've made while using it (such as the signature of your previous username that you left on any talk pages, messages, discussions, and replies). For example, if "Dr. Franz Schröder" is your real name, and you choose this to be your username, your real name and doctorate will be evident on your edits, on history pages, and (unless you change your signature) on all posts, messages, and replies that you make to talk pages and discussions. '''It is ''highly recommended'' that you read and understand the section on [[WP:Username policy#Real names|using your real name]] as your username before you decide to do so.''' Likewise, reusing a name here which you also use on other sites may be as revealing as using your actual name.

You will be required to specify the username that you'd like to use when you are [[Wikipedia:Why create an account?|creating a new account]], and you will subsequently use it (together with your password) to [[Help:Logging in|log in]] to that account. Once you have an account, you may create a [[WP:user pages|user page]], titled "User:XXXX" (where "XXXX" is your username), to provide relevant information about yourself to other Wikipedians. You or any other editor may also create a [[Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines#User talk pages|user talk page]], titled "User talk:XXXX", that people can use to contact you.

The MediaWiki software will not allow you to register a new account with a username that is already taken by another account, nor will it allow you to register a username that is ''too similar'' to another account. You [[Special:CentralAuth|can check]] whether or not a username is already taken; if the username is not listed when you enter it into the username search, it means that the provided username is not taken. Please note that the page does not return usernames that are too similar; it only returns a match if the exact username you enter is already taken. You may still be able to obtain a username that is too similar to another account under certain circumstances; see {{slink||Similar usernames}} below.

Your username can be virtually any string of characters (subject to a few [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (technical restrictions)#Restrictions on usernames|technical limitations]]). However, it should be a name which other users will be comfortable with and which does not interfere with the project. A controversial name may give a bad impression to other users, and avoiding this is in your own interest. This page describes certain types of usernames that are specifically disallowed, primarily because they can be considered ''offensive'', ''misleading'', or ''promotional'', or imply that the account does ''not belong to an individual''.

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