ayg wrote:

Then what happens to users like [[pt:User:555]]?

conrad.dunkerson wrote:

If user id numbers go down that low then something like '#555' or 'id #555' could be used to differentiate from actual numeric usernames.

robchur wrote:

(In reply to comment #2)

If user id numbers go down that low

Yes, user identifiers start at 1.

ayg wrote:

The use of the # sign is interesting, since it's not allowed in page names. Probably a simpler
solution would be to use a different magic namespace, like Userid:, but it would be possible to
permit # as an *initial* character of a page name without ambiguity, if we wanted to do some
tinkering (unless "User:" is a valid page name by itself, which I doubt).

This is quite a good idea. It would certainly simplify international interaction a bit,
particularly with SUL (if no per-wiki aliases are allowed). The distinctness problem does remain,
but numbers are a lot more distinct to an English speaker than Chinese characters, for instance.

Is there some reason we don't currently expose userids, though?

A better option would be a special page like Special:Mypage or Special:Mytalk.

There would be a problem with SUL: currently the numbers are different on each
wiki (each wiki has a separate user table). If this is to be implemented, it
would be a much better idea to wait until SUL and use the ID numbers from the
master user table.

That said, I can see a small problem with exposing user IDs. Since they are
sequentially assigned starting from 1, users with lower IDs are older, which
could lead to a sort of discrimination (with a "4-digiter" being superior to a
"5-digiter", for instance; see also [[Slashdot subculture]]).

ayg wrote:

(In reply to comment #5)

That said, I can see a small problem with exposing user IDs. Since they are
sequentially assigned starting from 1, users with lower IDs are older, which
could lead to a sort of discrimination (with a "4-digiter" being superior to a
"5-digiter", for instance; see also [[Slashdot subculture]]).

That can already be done by signup date, which we already expose (at least in
principle; it's not exposed for sufficiently old users because the new user log
wasn't around then).

(In reply to comment #6)

(In reply to comment #5)

That said, I can see a small problem with exposing user IDs. Since they are
sequentially assigned starting from 1, users with lower IDs are older, which
could lead to a sort of discrimination (with a "4-digiter" being superior to a
"5-digiter", for instance; see also [[Slashdot subculture]]).

That can already be done by signup date, which we already expose (at least in
principle; it's not exposed for sufficiently old users because the new user log
wasn't around then).

Yes, but the problem would be much more pronounced exactly with the older
accounts (when you start getting into 7-digit territory, the user ID doesn't
make much difference anymore).

ayg wrote:

It doesn't matter, because you can still look for first contribution date. As
long as we don't wave the number in everyone's face everywhere the user goes
like Slashdot does, I don't think there will be a problem.

I think attitudes have adjusted since 2007. In 2008, unified login (SUL) was implemented and English-language Wikimedia wikis now seem far more tolerant of non-ASCII usernames. Tentatively marking this bug unconfirmed.

Generally I _think_ user IDs should (only) be used in programmatic contexts, not in the GUI. But this probably needs further debate and deliberation.

Agree with MZ: I'll close this bug unless a strong evidence that this request still makes sense these days is provided.

The scope of this bug is unclear: if one goes by its summary, it's already fixed at least in part, for instance Special:UserRights famously works with #uid instead of username just as well (even crosswiki I think, stewards used to use this a lot IIRC). Things like userpage aliases and whatnot are something else.

Closing as per comments 9 - 11.