I, for one, am a fan of cool, unique, simple usernames, so i’m always on the lookout for usernames that havent been thought of yet.
I have found that a lot of simple usernames are taken by accounts that have been inactive for over 10 years. This really bothers me- it’s always a bummer whenever you think up a username and its taken.
Whats worse is some of these accounts have extremely old very valuable pets that i’m sure some people would be ecstatic to own! Instead, they rot in these inactive accounts for all of time.
I think that CS should have a limited period of inactivity. If your account remains inactive for x period of time, your account gets deleted.
Problems & Solutions:
What if people are taking a break and they want to return?
Before accounts are deleted, CS should send them an email stating that if they don't log in within a set period of time, their account will be deleted. Maybe prompt them with the option to delete their account immediately. This way, if someone has any desire to return, they can, but if they’re done with CS their username can be freed up.
What if they don’t have access to their email?
Well, accounts that haven’t logged in for years and also don’t have access to their emails most likely have no way to log in anyways. If they don’t have access to their email, but can still log in, then their accounts won’t be deleted due to inactivity… because they’re not inactive.
What about their pets?
pets from deleted accounts, in my opinion, should be sent to the Pound so they can be enjoyed by others. this supplies the Pound with more valuable pets that people would be less likely to give up otherwise, and it can give newer/smaller users an opportunity to have rarer pets.
How long should the period of inactivity be? Weeks, Months?
Years. A lot of them, too. I also am notorious for taking years-long breaks, so I think the period of activity should maybe be in the 5-10 years range. I don’t think someone who joined when they were 10 will care about returning if they’re 20 and haven’t played since.