There is one major problem with the internet growing. Handles are being taken but not actually used. This means that other people cannot use that handle and this can cause a lot of frustration. Unused handles take up room in a website’s database. They also eliminate that handle from being used by other people who would actually use it.
Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s the low down. A handle is the name that a person uses over the internet, on radios and anywhere that their actual names should not be used. This handle, or user name, is paired with a password to ensure that no one but the person who logged on with that name uses it. This handle is rarely ever deleted from the database and therefore it takes up room on a website’s database.
If the handle is one that is being used, than this generally is not a problem. If it was a handle that you wanted and you signed up late, then there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot make someone give up a handle that they have been using consistently. However, if the handle is not being used and you want it, why shouldn’t the website let you do so? Why shouldn’t the handle be made functional again?
It is very frustrating to find that a handle you want simply is not available because some else signed up for without actually ever using it. It should be a simple process to delete the handle and the information attached to it so that it can be used again. Having these handles brought to the attention to the webmaster should be rewarded, rather than punished.
An example of this is Digg.com. Digg absolutely refuses to let people use handles that have not ever been used. They can say that an infrequently used or old handle might have old information attached to it, but if the handle was never used? They should be happy that someone is asking to use a handle that has never posted. After all, doesn’t that mean that if the person was eager enough to contact them about it that they would then want to post? Isn’t content the reason that Digg exists? Maybe they should consider actually allowing people to use these handles and actually post content.
