What's the deal with Username, Nickname, Display Name?

Since this is different from the original TheBeachcats forum, I wanted to clarify what is going on with these names. On this website, you actually can have three identifiers.

Username, Nickname, and Display Name

• Username:
  This is the unique identifier used to log in to the site. A valid username is one that only has alphanumeric characters (letters and numbers), spaces, and/or certain special characters, namely spaces, underscores, hyphens, periods, and @ symbols. No other special characters are allowed.
• Nickname:
  Nicknames are used for user @mentioning and in your profile URL. So the nickname is all lower case and cannot contain periods or other characters not legal in a browser url.
• Display Name:
  You can choose how your name is displayed publicly, using your username, first name, last name, or even a custom display name.

Once you have registered an account, your username is set and can't be changed without some admin work.

You can set/change your Nickname and Display Name in your Account settings from your My Profile page or in the right column here under the My Profile section.

I've attached screenshots to show how to get to account settings and where to edit nickname/displayname .

Once you are on your Account Settings, there are other things you can do, like change your password, setup your signature, and write a bio that appears on your profile page.

Let me know any questions, I'm trying to write this like a FAQ question/answer.

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