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Caius Cosades should be fine by itself, simply because nobody cares.

On the other hand, even a Tiberius Septimus may not get away, because people do care.

I do it just because people like to see if they can get away with it.

I really hate stupid names. It's an RPG, name your character a name, not an xbox live handle.

That's more creative than a direct ripoff, and I'd let it slide, myself.

That's a failure of the language filter. Plenty of words have "ass" in them. Was a huge debacle about a guy named Glassweaver on the beta forums...

They don't want people named after prominent lore figures.

Imagine seeing people named Nerevar Indoril or Miley Cyrus.

Pop culture references can get them in legal trouble depending on what it is, and some works of fiction's names can be subject to trademark law.

Over in WoW it'd get you reported under "gibberish" rule. Most gold sellers often use gibberish names.

Some of them are legitimate first names in some areas.

The one for my character is on the Icelandic boys' name register of allowable names, but also appears in an obscure place in Norse mythology.

Note, that doesn't narrow anything. Lol.

Specific, important to the lore names, no. You wouldn't be able to use named characters important to history. Froki, that random guy in a shack in the middle of BFE in Skyrim? He's fine. Ulric Stormcloak or Balgruuf the Greater? Not so much.

You'd probably have issues with the recognizable ones.

Many of those same names are legitimate names.

http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/List_of_approved_Icelandic_male_names

That's the approved list of male Icelandic names. That site has the female list as well, as well as a rather large slew of Nordic names in general, based off data pulled from census websites and such. Mine's on it. Many old mythology names are on it, because some of them are still used today.

Yep. SOP.

It really does not matter mate.

Like i said , never had any problem and my names are always taken from other fiction universes , be it games/books/series...

Just dont use offensive names or real peoples.

Those are banned in a second.

Well, yes. If they are not recognisable, then they wouldn't be popular! That's why rule 5 is all about "popular characters", not "public domain characters".

I would not be so optimistic.

May I presume that previously you have mostly played on PvP and PvE servers? On those servers, the accepted norm is fairly nonrestrictive. However, TES is going to have a mega server, so all kinds of players of different sensibilities will be around. This means that a name which wouldn't be reported on a PvE/PvP server in another MMO may get reported on ESO's mega server.

I know it doesn't. but all these people going around acting high and mighty because they like to waste their time spoiling other peoples experiences really need to get a life.

It's because of the fail that is the language filter, not because of the name. "ass" is a prohibited combination. Or was. Not sure if they've since fixed it. I'd hope someone feedbacked that.

Very first name in WoW that I ever reported was "Impissed", followed by his buddy "Cornholio". Both were force changed. After that, a guy named "Ballzdeep" with an alt named "Necrophalus" got both changed, twice, because they misspelled the original name after flagged for rename, and then the GM just changed it to something random FOR him. He deleted both, one of which was a level 80 undead rogue. Just because he couldn't name it Necrophalus.

Typically, the major offenders are built into the name filter, and the rest are on a report basis.

Like I can't drop the F bomb in the middle of a name because it'll autoblock.

Yes, even in the old days in WoW before paid name changes, they could flag you to change it before logging in. You'd get appended with numbers and a ! that showed you'd get a prompt to rename before entering world.

This would also happen when you transferred and the name was taken. I'd sometimes take my own name when I transferred servers in order to force a name change if I didn't want easily tracked.

That's an abuse of GM reporting and they really dislike when that happens.

hmm that part about no popular names is a bit fishy if you ask me, lets say I call myself Guan Long, which was a characters name in a beat'em up game called Shao-Lin for the PS1 from 1999....some people would recognize it maybe and claim its against the rules, but the name itself isnt popular........in my opinion in only refers to massively popular names like Van Hellsing or Bruce Wayne etc. ...any names that only a moderate amount of people might have seen somewhere dont fall under this rule

No, actually, it's more like 'sixual Harassment' rules at work... yes, if a fat nerd says something flirty to the hot secretary, he gets reported... but if Channing Tatum's twin works there and hits on the exact same secretary, she's flattered and has a date later on with the guy...

Don't think of them as 'rules'... more 'guidelines'... lol

First, thanks for posting this. I know you're just trying to help. Also, I suppose I can see the intent of the "rules." And, I get that it's up to someone to report you.

But these rules are pretty restrictive. Names are prohibited beyond the scope of worldwide copyright law? Seriously? So Robert would be out because there was once a king named Robert. And William. And Henry. And every other name in the English language. Any author, actor, poet, person of signifcance . . . like ever? Any reference in any book, story, film, myth, religious volume going back to the beginning of time is blocked? Right.

AND we can't use any name that's ever been used in any Elder Scrolls game. So name generator's like the one created by Tamriel Rebuilt - which are based on TES names - would also be out? Naw. I'm not seeing this. My name is lore correct, not offensive, and if they ask me to change it, I'll fight it.

And I won't be reporting people, unless their names are clearly offensive or racially duragory. My ego is not rooted in my need to destory other people's fun. This is a sandbox. Everyone who paid their money gets to play.

That would indeed be the case. At the end of the day, if someone reports you for using a "popular name", the GM will have to check out your name. If he sees your name and doesn't know what it is, or if he knows it is not that popular, then he wouldn't do anything.

Yep, you paid to play, enjoy, have a blast! People need to lighten up, it's a game, play, have fun...

Name your cat race Katy Purry lol!! They must allow it! I feel sorry for name hunters.. If they wanna name it Skywalker.. let it be.. life and let life..

This is simply great

Thank GOD I ran into someone in the beta named butsixx and a few other annoying names.

I would have too, man. That's great lol.

I most certainly report the following name categories:

Profanity

Hate speech on anyone or anything, ESPECIALLY women and minorities. I have yet to come across man hating names, but I'd report those too.

Drugs and alcohol references

sixual references

Copyrighted or trademarked proper names or product names

That's about it, really.

Pretty much.

And I'd be surprised, as a side note, if anyone that played Morrowind didn't recognize Caius. He was key to the beginning parts of the main quest.

I could totally see that happening. :/

The first question is actually a good one. Copyright usually doesn't attach to a name specifically; it attaches to a character/personality. This means a name would only be copyrighted if it's a signature/significant trait of that character. For example, there are many Bobs, but simply by having the name Bob it wouldn't infringe on anyone, unless your character happens to always wear a yellow construction hat, and sings creepy songs. On the other hand, a name like Skywalker would be significant to the character of Luke Skywalker, but a name like Luke would not be.

The same rationale applies to your second question: as others and I have mentioned, a name like Caius Cosades will probably be fine (main story NPC from Morrowind), but a Tiber Septim or even Septim will not be fine.

Finally, these aren't my rules. These rules were simply summarised from the Code of Conduct every player has agreed to when they created their ESO account.

That would fall under "stupid names" and I'd roll my eyes until they become a jackwagon in zone.

Was he on Pact about three betas back? If so, I saw him, too.

There is a fairly well-known Dunmer in TES:V that has my name (my real name). I suppose I can't create a character named after myself then. Not that I was going to, anyway, but still.

True. The formula to having a name reported is something like (Popularity x People's Care Level + Offensiveness). People may know Caius, but they probably won't care.

yeah, would be interesting if they elaborated on where exactly they draw the line...and what if the name is somewhat popular, but can also mean something else....Raven is a name thats usually taken quite fast, it can refer to the charcter from Tekken or simply to the bird ^^

I was thinking along the same lines as you. If I saw a female Bosmer (wood elf) Nightblade named Artemis with an awesome bow that would be cool.

GhoXen,

I'm not attackkng you personally, but I don't agree with the scope of the rules as stated. And I wouldn't want someone to be "chilled" out of using a name becasue they were afraid of the rules.

As I said, thanks for posting this.

What about an Argnoian named Elizardbeth Shue?

You know, unless the GMs are really out to ruin everyone's fun - which would be a first in my experience on this forum or any other forum associated with Bethesda or Zenimax - I would encourage players to calmly and politely explain to them why the name is important to you.

I doubt they're out to bust heads.