User blog comment:DaNASCAT/Technical Update: November 8, 2011/@comment-1788742-20111108194309

Agreed with Eladkse. There was no indication when this profile design launched that our so-called "preferred names" were anything more than an "aka". Then, when Message Wall was launched, I still didn't understand why Wikia would want to use the "aka" name over our usernames. I can think of no logical reason why wikia would push that change, other than to further turn Wikia into a social network. Almost all of your updates, even Message Wall's comment-like layout, can be explained away in other ways than "we want to be a Facebook clone".

However, I don't see how you can explain this in any other way. After all, the push for real names will only confuse viewers of userpages and viewers of Message Walls (on wikis that have the Wall), as usernames are used everywhere else (in WikiActivity, RC, etc,...) Why, though, Wikia? I see no logical reason for this change, except what you're continuously denying despite the Message Wall, Chat, and article comments- That you're trying to become a social network in all but name. I'd really like some clarification on this. Because it makes no sense and is simply confusing. There's no reason to change this, unless, of course, Wikia is trying to become a social network, something that by now most of your users have seen, yet something that you, the staff, continue to deny.