We have changed the way we manage reader “handles” for story comments.

Each commenter will now have a unique ID published on the site. This means that some readers — about 5000 — will see their handles change. These are people who share the same handle as others, or who have registered using more than one email address, using the same handle.

Currently 151 people use “Mark” as their handle, for example. We think the fairest way to do this is to assign “Mark” to the first person who signed up using that name, and then “Mark 2”, “Mark 3" and so on.

You want to change your handle? Pop over to your account details page and login, using your email address and password. We will mail you a password reminder, if necessary.

So why are we making this change? We want to stamp out impersonation — a very small issue on The Reg, but we don’t want this to be an issue, full stop.

Readers who change their comment handles will not be able to return to their old handle. We may change our mind on this, if this is an issue for many. Commenters, of course, may continue to post as anonymous cowards.

No timetable yet, but in due course we will enable readers to look at all postings made by individual posters (minus those posted anonymously).

Suggestions for other changes, at the usual place, are welcome. ®