New accounts now need some RL info?

I noticed a promising change when I looked at the New Account creation page today:



I don't know if everyone gets this now, but the new account page I got asked first for real life name, an e-mail address, country, birthdate and gender.

Now, they probably don't do squat to validate anything but the e-mail address. And they still don't ask if you have other accounts already, or give you a way to legitimately link your accounts together. But it's a major step in the right direction, if you ask me.

Are we finally going to see an end to completely anonymous account creation?

Can you sign in as Elvis Prestley, and get it to work?

What do you think? Should LL go with this new sign-up page, and require the third-party registration sites to also send in that information to LL as part of any new account creation request?

Wasn't it always like that?

Nope. Not unless you elected to go Premium, and were also entering in credit card info to pay for membership. The old form only asked your birthdate and an e-mail, and didn't ask for any other identifying info unless you went Premium.

Hmm, it must have been changed for a while because I'm sure I entered that information when creating my last alt. I prefer them having those extra boxes, so yes this is a good move.

I just created a new account via the Modular System page and only had to give it an email address and a birth date.

The Linden registration site has asked for your RL name for at least two years.

The LL page does not seem to care what you enter in those RL fields.

I'm quite sure it was like that when I signed up with my first account (June 2007), and for all my alts too (at least real name, birthdate, and gender I'm very sure about, country not so much). Many (most?) third-party portals still want nothing but an email address, though.

/me thinks it's been at least 3. It all looks familiar to me..

Ive almost been here 3 years and it was required then at sign up.

They'll care if you enter false data and then later decide to put a payment method on file whose information doesn't match what you told them at first.

They'll still sign you up, but it will take an embarrassing call to Support to get the correct information entered.

You should try getting money out when they differ - they simply decline it. The difference bettwen a stated RL name of Phil and a bank account name of Phillip was enough to reject the request. I phoned them, of course and changed the RL name in the account.

They've asked for such RL information at least since I signed up 3 years ago. That's why I had to change the RL name in my account to match what's on the bank account.

"...What, your name isn't *really* Donald Duck?"

So do they get cranky if one asks to have the RL name corrected? I mean, some enter just for a looksy, and don't bother being all that accurate on the name.. I have heard.

this has been from like end of 2006 the case.. so welcome back, had a nice wintersleep in that cave?

Not in a cave, just have't created a new account since then.

Actually, I have created several accounts since 6/6/2006, when they stopped bothering to verify any info on new accounts. But it has been several months since the last one, and the last few were through non-LL sites because of the way that LL batch-sorts surnames into random bunches, only allowing you to see less than 10% of the available surnames at a time. So it's probably been a year since I last used the LL sign-up page.

I just didn't recall having to enter in that much RL information last time, is all. Not prior to electing to go Premium or volunteering to add payment info. And since I have never created a Premium account, I usually didn't end up entering full details until I added payment info at the website.

That's been there on the LL reg portal for as long as I can remember.. I know because I remember feeling wierd typing in my brothers RL name when I created HIS old account for him back in '06.

You mean that not everyone uses "NoneOf YourBusiness" when they first sign up?

I got asked all that in 2007.

I'm pretty sure I had to give RL details when I joined over 3 years ago - and I was basic for the first month before going Premium.

Yes, I have heard this too Does anybody have recent first-hand experience of getting these details changed?

Uhm, no? This account is on my name and paid for by my sister's CC. I took money out with no trouble at all, and yes, via Lindex.

I've been asked for that information since I first started in SL (which was just last March, not a long time).