User blog comment:TimmyQuivy/Introducing the UserRenameTool/@comment-1824169-20180209024203/@comment-22224-20180209032045

There are two technical problems with trying to redesign the platform with allowing infinite usernames (and that's ignoring some social ramifications).

First, when MediaWiki - the software FANDOM is based off - was introduced in 2001, multiple usernames simply wasn't a thing. You picked an online identity once - on forums, on chats, etc., etc., - and you just didn't change it. This sort of username swapping really only became a thing about 8-10 years ago. As such, the architecture our site is built on means it's just not easy to do so. This wasn't assumed to be a need down the road and as such across the literally hundreds of tables there's places where things would just to complex to rewrite to allow for a super streamlined way for usernames to be changed infinitely.

Secondly - the very way you contribute makes it much more technically taxing to do right. Let's compare FANDOM to Instagram. You change your username on Instagram, what does Instagram have to change? The photos you're tagged in need the new name, your actual posts need the new name to display (but the URL the images and posts are stored at are not reliant to your username), and then your new name should appear on all your followers/following lists. Some things actually don't change, like anytime someone gives you an "@" mention in a comment. Okay, so there can be a lot of content, but you can see there's very few avenues this content exists on. And again, Instagram was architecturally designed in an era where the desire to change usernames infinitely could easily be taken into consideration when the software is developed. Okay, let's compare that to FANDOM now. On FANDOM, you need: All your contributions to be changed, your userpages/user blogs (and all relevant URLs) to be moved, redirects to be created, all Special (like Special:ListUsers) pages updated to show the new name, you need all page histories to show your new name, your name to be displayed properly in Chat, Discussions, Forum, etc., etc.,. And that's on one wiki. That's a lot of processes and tables that need to be touched.