Oh, I see. Voyager doesn’t show that because display names are confusing for mentions, can be used to impersonate, and distracting. It might be an option to enable in the future, off by default.
Edit:
Claim
To clarify how I really feel, here’s my hot take: display_name is a really awful feature and should be removed from Lemmy.
Why?
They are dangerous by default because the very concept implies that clients should render display_nameinstead of the username, if it exists. Which is unwise: Apps have to choose between replacing (bad for impersonation/UX/distraction reasons) and showing both (which just looks duplicative most of the time).
What makes this feature even more frustrating is that people are now using display names for their username + flairs of actually important things, like gender identities. (for example, display_name="Alex (he/his)")
It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation for Lemmy clients. Some people are using display_name for important info like gender identities, and yet display_name is so incredibly easy to impersonate people and otherwise abuse.
Solution?
What is the solution? I think Lemmy should ditch display_name and replace with flair (or something like this). The general idea is that flair is NOT a replacement for your username, but rather it will be displayed alongside it.
Maybe even make flair per-community like Reddit. I think that was a much better design than what Lemmy currently has.
I understand your take and respect it. However, this is the feature I was hoping Voyager would “fix.” Unfortunately, this means it’s time for me to move to a different client, which is sad because Voyager is a great client.
To explain: Since every other client and interface (as far as I know) uses the display name, it becomes confusing when I post under a different name every time I use Voyager. Like it or not, Lemmy has the display name feature, and it is used. You don’t like it for solid reasons, and that’s more than okay. This just makes Voyager not a full client for Lemmy, but an opinionated interface. Instead of implementing your opinion on what Lemmy should or should not do, why not move that discussion to Lemmy itself where these decisions should be made and leave the client to be just that - a client?
It’s your client, of course, so you can do what you want, and I respect that. I don’t want to use such a client, though. So why not make the display name optional as it is everywhere else?
Other clients have their own opinions, of course, but that’s another discussion.
Additionally, I agree that impersonation can be an issue. Still, just because Voyager doesn’t use the display name doesn’t make the rest of Lemmy much safer. Eventually, we might need proper verification on Lemmy and then give color-coded badges or something of the sort.
Other considerations:
One, as you said, display names make for better user customization.
Two, hypothetically, instead of ignoring the display name and replacing it with flair, why not have both? Display names can provide personal identifiers, while flairs can add context-specific information like roles or achievements within a community. But as I said earlier, such points are better discussed on Lemmy itself, not Voyager.
Finally: you made an awesome client! I used it for long. Not for posting due to this matter, but it offers a superior browsing experience. Well done!
You might have missed it, but I mentioned there will probably be an option added in the future to turn on display names (off by default).
As for other Lemmy clients, I always encourage people to look around and find what works best for you! There are a lot of great apps and what is “best” depends on the person using it.
Oh, I see. Voyager doesn’t show that because display names are confusing for mentions, can be used to impersonate, and distracting. It might be an option to enable in the future, off by default.
Edit:
Claim
To clarify how I really feel, here’s my hot take:
display_nameis a really awful feature and should be removed from Lemmy.Why?
They are dangerous by default because the very concept implies that clients should render
display_nameinstead of the username, if it exists. Which is unwise: Apps have to choose between replacing (bad for impersonation/UX/distraction reasons) and showing both (which just looks duplicative most of the time).What makes this feature even more frustrating is that people are now using display names for their username + flairs of actually important things, like gender identities. (for example,
display_name="Alex (he/his)")It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation for Lemmy clients. Some people are using
display_namefor important info like gender identities, and yetdisplay_nameis so incredibly easy to impersonate people and otherwise abuse.Solution?
What is the solution? I think Lemmy should ditch
display_nameand replace withflair(or something like this). The general idea is thatflairis NOT a replacement for your username, but rather it will be displayed alongside it.Maybe even make flair per-community like Reddit. I think that was a much better design than what Lemmy currently has.
I understand your take and respect it. However, this is the feature I was hoping Voyager would “fix.” Unfortunately, this means it’s time for me to move to a different client, which is sad because Voyager is a great client.
To explain: Since every other client and interface (as far as I know) uses the display name, it becomes confusing when I post under a different name every time I use Voyager. Like it or not, Lemmy has the display name feature, and it is used. You don’t like it for solid reasons, and that’s more than okay. This just makes Voyager not a full client for Lemmy, but an opinionated interface. Instead of implementing your opinion on what Lemmy should or should not do, why not move that discussion to Lemmy itself where these decisions should be made and leave the client to be just that - a client?
It’s your client, of course, so you can do what you want, and I respect that. I don’t want to use such a client, though. So why not make the display name optional as it is everywhere else?
Other clients have their own opinions, of course, but that’s another discussion.
Additionally, I agree that impersonation can be an issue. Still, just because Voyager doesn’t use the display name doesn’t make the rest of Lemmy much safer. Eventually, we might need proper verification on Lemmy and then give color-coded badges or something of the sort.
Other considerations: One, as you said, display names make for better user customization.
Two, hypothetically, instead of ignoring the display name and replacing it with flair, why not have both? Display names can provide personal identifiers, while flairs can add context-specific information like roles or achievements within a community. But as I said earlier, such points are better discussed on Lemmy itself, not Voyager.
Finally: you made an awesome client! I used it for long. Not for posting due to this matter, but it offers a superior browsing experience. Well done!
You might have missed it, but I mentioned there will probably be an option added in the future to turn on display names (off by default).
As for other Lemmy clients, I always encourage people to look around and find what works best for you! There are a lot of great apps and what is “best” depends on the person using it.