Google has updated its Profile Name Policy, which has been the cause of some controversy in the beginning weeks of Google+.
In a nutshell, Google’s guidelines for Your Name and Google+ Profiles are as follows:
- Use your full first and last name in a single language
- Put nicknames or pseudonyms in the Other Names field
- Avoid unusual characters in your name.
- Your profile and name must represent one individual
- Don’t use the name of another individual
- Name changes can only happen once per 30 days
- For appeals, follow the on-screen instructions to submit your name for review.
- If your profile is suspended, you won’t be able to make full use of Google services that require an active profile (G+ ,Buzz, Reader, Picasa). You can still use Gmail and other services.
You can see further explanation of each point on the support page. Google wraps the whole thing up by saying, “We understand that your identity on Google+ is important to you, and our Name Policy may not be for everyone at this time. We’d hate to see you go, but if you choose to leave, make a copy of your Google+ data first. Then click here to leave Google+.”
As WonderHowTo’s G+ Insider’s Guide points out, there is a great deal of discussion about Google’s policy going on on Twitter, under the hashtag: #nymwars.