When I speak of the current practice, I mean the practice as employed by both Randy and Carol in the cases I have assisted some concerned members with. In these cases, the members were not required to delete their old account, lose their post count, or otherwise suffer the consequences as outlined in the previous resolution passed by the TalkBoard.

I believe it is unfair to require a member to know a sympathetic TalkBoard member or a moderator in-person in order to facilitate a request a handle change for a legitimate reason without punishment. Yet that is what the current practice requires--those who know people in "the inner circle" have special access and privileges, while the vast majority of those who most likely simply avoid participating in our community due to this restriction are left out in the cold. There should be a fair process for legitimate requests to satisfy this very real need.

As for the argument that this is out of the TalkBoard's purview, I believe the quote posted by Dovster should put that belief to rest. For those who still maintain that the TalkBoard should not be involved in this, I will be happy to move that the previous resolution be rescinded and the verbiage in the FlyerTalk FAQ struck. Of course, if it passes, that would have the effect of allowing handle changes without restriction.