The Art of Nicknames

On the internet, people sign up for accounts on Twitter or Discord or other online applications that require usernames. A lot of these people decide on long usernames, usually having multiple syllables or even multiple words. The problem with these lengthy usernames is that they take longer to type. That's why, even on the internet, people start resorting to nicknames. But what's with these nicknames, anyway? How do you decide on a nickname to call another user? This small article will give you the gist of what I at least think nicknames should be decided on.

User Choice

Choosing nicknames can be a lengthy process, or a rather straightforward one. The first rule you should keep in mind always is what the user themselves wants to be called. If they have some lengthly name such as "ThiccGamer" but would rather be called "Gary" or "Bob" it's probably a wise idea to call them "Gary" or "Bob."

Word Amount

If the user doesn't state a nickname they'd want, you could start your internal nickname choosing process. This could start with the amount of words in a username.

One Word

One word would probably be the easiest to decide upon, as, usually, one word should be easy to use as it is (especially if the word only has one syllable). Sometimes, though, these words can be lengthy, such as "Professional" (I know, I'm great at coming up with example usernames). In this case, it's best to try shortening the name yourself, usually starting at the beginning. Now, the word "professional" is commonly abbreviated as "pro," so usually you'd just call a user "Pro." Most of the time, though, a user won't just have one word.

Two Words

Two words is probably the average amount of words a user would have in their username. If a username has two words (including compound words), it'd be best to start looking at the parts of speech, which I'm sure frequent internet users know a lot about.

Most of the time, a username with two words wouldn't be the same part of speech twice (such as "noun" and "noun"), rather a combination (e.g. "verb" and "noun"). My username, for example, is usually "UnsoughtConch." That's an adjective (unsought) and a noun (conch).

In the case of an adjective followed by a noun, it'd probably be the best to use the noun as the nickname (Conch). In fact, if any multiple-letter username has only one noun, it's probably best to use the noun.

If a user has two nouns (e.g. ConchDev, GameMaster) it might get a bit more complicated. While these two examples may seem like two nouns (Conch and Dev, Game and Master), they can easily be adjectives or even verbs. The suffix "Dev" could be describing the noun "Conch." The same with our "GameMaster" example. "Game" could be describing what type of master GameMaster is (or what they are a master of). In the case that a username would truly have two nouns (e.g. LampPost), it would just be up to user preference on what to use as a nickname.

Three or More Words

If a username has three or more words, it could get complicated, though these are less common. There are many combinations of parts of speech that a username with three or more words could be (e.g. adjective verb noun). Let's say a user has an adjective, a verb, and a noun (e.g. SimpleJumpingJack). No matter how many words come before it, it'd probably make the most sense to use the noun as the nickname (e.g. Jack). If the user has multiple nouns, however (e.g. BrownLampPost) it'd probably be the best idea to shave off the words that aren't nouns and decide based on nouns and good judgement.

No Words

In a few cases, you'll find a user with no words in their username. This username could be an emoji or emoticon, as well as just a jumble of characters such as _-*. In this case, try finding out what the user would like to be called, or come up with a name yourself. If a user has an emoji, such as a laughing emoji, maybe call them something like "Emoji" or "Lmao." If it's an emoticon, maybe just call them "Emoticon."

Conclusion

And there we have it, the basics of nicknames. Of course, this small guide is not exhaustive, there are still plenty of username combinations and patterns that we did not discuss. If that's the case, it's probably best to ask a user what they prefer or just use your best judgement.