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What is it with requiring at least 6 character usernames? Why does it matter to an automated system if I use less? I get that a username with only one letter isn't optimal, but I don't see why it can't be > 3.

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This has to do with keeping some words reserved or just off-limits. For example, some 4-letter words would not be preferred as usernames, as well as things like login, auth, etc.

Right, so make 5 the minimum then and reserve certain words. I guess I can always use usernames such as "administration", "dashboard" or "profile", right? I believe setting a minimum of 6 letters is a questionnable approach to this problem.

Totally understandable - we don't want to exclude you based on the number of characters in your desired username. We just don't have a good set of all the words we need to reserve upfront - what we really want to avoid is ever forcing someone to change their username because of a conflict like this.

We'll see what we can do to allow shorter usernames without ending up in this situation. Thanks for the feedback.

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