Add optional fn/ln to profiles

[dylsell]

Problem

Trust is hugely important to BitClout's success long term, but many lack trust in the product today.

Proposed Solution

This is by no means a silver bullet to BitClout's trust issues. But, users should be able to optionally add their FN/LN to their profiles. This will allow creators to build more trust with others on bitclout.

Solution Details

There are a lot of places that reference username. For an MVP I don't think it's necessary to render fn/ln in all of these places. It seems meaningful enough to add fn/ln to profile settings (https://bitclout.com/update-profile) and to the full profile page (https://bitclout.com/u/[username]). From there, other apps and potentially the bitclout.com feeds can decide if this is valuable to implement elsewhere. I talk about this in a bit more length starting at 2m in this video: https://vimeo.com/570408722

Other apps that leverage an optional fn/ln pattern are:

• GitHub
• Instagram
• Twitter

Success Criteria

If this is successful, we'll see a strong % of users filling out their FN/LN and bots will be more easily detectible.

Open questions
Should this be implemented at the core of the user profile and accessible via all user profile APIs?

Future iterations

• Show fn/ln in other places in the bitclout UI outside of the user's profile and profile settings
• Index fn/ln to be searched on

[tijno]

Can you post screenshot of example so i dont need to watch the video ?

Sorry for dumb question - but what does fn/ln mean ?

If its links to proven profiles on other sites (login with github to show gh badge) then this makes sense but should probably be considered in light of move to distributed "verification" / associations model described by DH previously in FAQ (under moving blocks verification to chain)

[HPaulson]

People can add their name to their profile right now ? Are people doing this ? I have not seen examples. Does that mean there is no need ?

lol, https://bitclout.com/u/HPaulson

[tijno]

Ah you are exceptional hunter. Should have known it was in there.

Lets see how the discussion evolves.

[AikonMishima]

The idea makes sense as it’s an optional field.

There’s different perceptions at play, however, when it comes to the pseudonymous nature of BitClout and entering a real name.

The more positive, would be the introduction of the account’s verification of authenticity (note: perception, not technical authentication).
Another positive is the ability to speak to people’s first name, instead of a nickname.
And in final, the usage of this data for making communication more « personal ».

From the other end of the spectrum, it could be used to reinforce impersonation by scammers / bots.

In conclusion: I’m all for it, just that it needs to be well motivated for the main node.
As in: « Filling in your real name is NOT a necessity, it’s optional. »

[dylsell]

Here is a good example of how Reddit enabled an optional display name alongside a username

@diamondhands0 @maebeam now that this discussion has evolved a bit, would love your thoughts

[tijno]

"display name (optional)" is a good way. Id be happy with that.

Still concerned about this potentially making impersonation easier.

Username has to be unique so scammers have to resort to using lookalike usernames for impersonation.

[oO]

separate fields for First Name + Last Names is a very narrow Western Culture format that doesn't fit a lot of other naming formats ( chinese names have 3 parts, for example )

So while I think having a standard field for a "Display Name" ( real or invented ) with less restrictions on characters in addition to the @username ( which has to be globally unique ) is a good idea, I'm definitely against the First+Last separation.

Also look at Supernovas.app as an example of a node that already supports that concept. They just don't store the information on-chain, but in their own extension to the database.