I have a question for other hosts about username policy. Currently, when we create an account we automatically create however many usernames are associated with that account and give them generic logon names (eg if their domain is version12.net the usernames would be version001 - version010), and then the client can create whatever alias they want for their usernames.

We do this to prevent everyone logging on and try to create a sales, webmaster, or whatever account name, and we never have to worry about someone not getting a name they want.

Today, for the first time, we had someone complain about this policy. He wanted his username to be "Bob" or nothing. I certainly, don't want to lose any clients, but at the same time we put the policy in place for a reason, and I don't like making too many exceptions :).

So, how do other hosts handle this?

Thanks

allan

Why would a user care what their username is?

Assuming you're running a proper MTA that doesn't need a real system account named "bob" to deliver mail to "bob@domain.com" it shouldn't matter. A user that demands a particular username isn't being realistic about the trade-offs involved in a shared hosting environment.

You need to also explain to the customer that there are security concerns as well. A difficult-to-guess user name is almost like having another password.

You are 100% correct in your policy. My guess is the customer doesn't entirely understand exactly what a user name is and what an alias is.

Travis and Chris,

Thanks for your feedback. It sounds like we're not asking for anything unreasonable then :). That's good to know.

Tell him bob and every other variant of bob is already taken, heh :)