Here is a summary of what can and cannot be changed:
- Memberships
NearlyFreeSpeech.NET memberships are held by individuals, must not be shared or transferred, and must use your real/legal name.
Your legal name is the one on the government-issued photo ID you would show us to regain access if you ever got locked out. There are some cases, e.g., transitioning individuals, where your real name may be different. In those cases, we ask for both so we can address you properly for everyday tasks but still match your ID if needed.
If you have legally changed your name (for any reason), you can submit an assistance request to have us update it in the system for you.
If you gave us an invalid name when you signed up, and you are now prepared to fix it, you can use the same assistance request.
If you were interested in changing the name because you want to transfer control of your hosted services to someone else, stop and see this FAQ entry instead. If you're interested in changing the name because someone gave you the login name and password to a membership with their name on it, stop accessing our system immediately! Contact them, and tell them to transfer things to you properly.
You can request a change to your login name at any time for a nominal fee (waived for subscription members) through the same assistance request. No reason is required.
- Sites
You can add and remove aliases from a site at any time through our member interface.
The short name of a site cannot be changed without creating a new site, moving the content over, then deleting the old one.
- Accounts
- The account name can be changed at any time from the Account Information Panel in our member interface.
The account number (e.g., A1B2-C3D4E5F6) cannot be changed.
- MySQL Processes
MySQL process names (DSN's) cannot be changed. You must create a new one, move any needed content, then delete the old one.
MySQL does not provide a builtin way to rename databases, but tables can be renamed using the RENAME TABLE SQL command.