Ultimately much of this is subjective and it isn’t outlined with the expectation of strict guidelines.
It’s up to each individual staff member to determine if a nickname is acceptable and it likely will not be entirely consistent between staff members.
Individual staff members may only change nicknames on their own judgement if the nickname does not resemble the user’s actual username or if the user requests the change.
Each point will have a corresponding image like the one here.
Rules
- Nicknames must resemble the member’s username.
Encouraged
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Nicknames should start with the same letter(s) as the member’s username.
It is also encouraged to include enough characters to make it recognizable.
Here, the green example is more cohesive and even includes the flow of the original username.
Meanwhile, the red example not only barely meets the point, but makes it harder to recognize as the original username.
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Majority of the username should be used in the nickname AND take up majority of the nickname.
This is shown in the image below.
Here, the yellow characters (username characters used in the nickname) take up majority of both the username and the nickname.
Discouraged
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Nicknames shouldn’t involve bold, italics, or underlines as they can be obtrusive.
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Nicknames shouldn’t involve black or other dark colors as it can hinder readability.
