Renaming dragons

[pinkgothic]

It's been quite a while now that the Dragon Cave site allows us not only to name our dragons, but to change the name again later down the line, or even remove it. This has made holding onto to nice names for later use possible, and even allows some rudimentary communication by e.g. letting the pair that produced an accidentally auto-abandoned egg be named to request that egg back.

 

But when do you rename your dragons? Do you have a policy? Do you avoid changing dragon names once it has offspring? What are your 'rules'?

 

(Insert usual disclaimer about having searched for topics like this and not found them here. Obviously feel free to merge if I've just been blind, which is always very possible.)

 

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I was just doing some small-scale renaming on my scroll when this topic occurred to me. I know how I handle renaming, of course, but what about everyone else?

 

My personal rule is that I'll rename my dragons whenever whim demands, unless the dragon has offspring on other people's scrolls.

 

That 'exception' is not to the point of outright ruling out a rename. Rather, if I want to rename a dragon with dragons on other people's scrolls, I'll check the progeny of the dragon to see if anyone has named their dragons in any recognisable part after mine. I'll do this for the whole progeny if it's at all practical - if it isn't, in most cases, I just assume I can't rename the dragon (I don't make this assumption if the dragon I'm renaming already has a super messy lineage).

 

If I find offspring dragons that incorporate the name, I either abandon renaming, or I preserve the part(s) of the dragon name that were used by the offspring.

 

Generally speaking, I don't rename a lot. I've got these use-cases going on:

 

1) If I get an all-lowercase code dragon (of a dragon species I don't name by code), I will migrate a name from my corresponding old "main scroll" dragon to the new dragon. For example, this CB water dragon used to be called 'Seabound' (the only name there related to 'Seabound' is on my scroll) who was later usurped by this handsome fellow with an all-lowercase code. I almost never actively hunt for all-lowercase codes, so this doesn't happen all that much.

 

2) I get into some new franchise and/or write up a new universe and/or make new characters of my own (for a different setting entirely) and I want to hold onto names for a while. This usually means going into my messy dragon list that've never bred, tossing out names I have no interest in, replacing them with franchise-relevant names, and then hoping that sometime in future these names will feel relevant to a dragon species and I won't forget I'm sitting on them.

 

I am terrible at the 'not forgetting' part of this. It works out as intended sometimes, though! Sometimes this results in awkward shuffling along of names on dragons in limbo (the space before the part of my scroll I consider 'main scroll') while I wait to have enough dragons to hold the names for me.

 

3) A new release I recognise pops up and I excitedly begin to gather names before my eggs have even hatched. Like in #2, this can result in awkward name shuffling of limbo dragons.

 

[ Edit: 4) I was reminded that I forgot one use-case: Sometimes I've named dragons that are meant to be a pair (and essentially bred only to each other) in a way that I find aesthetically pleasing. If they refuse each other, I might migrate the name from the rejected mate to a later sibling, e.g. Tepid Tribble used to be called Warm Tribble before he refused his intended mate. ]

 

That's about it from my end, I think! I'm really curious about everyone else's use for renaming, though. When do you rename?

Edited April 30, 2016 by pinkgothic

[Eos]

I usually don't rename my dragons unless I just absolutely hate the original name I used. And if I do decide to rename a dragon, I look at the offspring list first to see if any of them were named after mine.

[Cinspawn]

I think I'd only rename if I can use a previously-named CB dragon for a lineage, and they have naming rules. So if my dragon is named Bobby, and the lineage is about knights or whatever, Bobby might be renamed Bobby the Knight or even something completely different, whatever suits.

 

Other than that, I don't think I rename... I just try to name everything I have!

[Fuzzbucket]

Almost never. I fear giving them an identity crisis.

[pinkgothic]

I think I'd only rename if I can use a previously-named CB dragon for a lineage, and they have naming rules. So if my dragon is named Bobby, and the lineage is about knights or whatever, Bobby might be renamed Bobby the Knight or even something completely different, whatever suits.

Ooh, that's really interesting! I hadn't thought of that. I'm not really involved in any lineage projects, though, so that's probably why. Good idea, though! Thanks for sharing! Do you have any real world examples where you did this? *curious*

[Cinspawn]

Ooh, that's really interesting! I hadn't thought of that. I'm not really involved in any lineage projects, though, so that's probably why. Good idea, though! Thanks for sharing! Do you have any real world examples where you did this? *curious*

Hmm, it seems so far I kept the name empty until I was sure, so no.

I have a pink cb I'm gonna breed with this dragon: https://dragcave.net/lineage/Nws0K

I wanted the name to be anxiety related, so I waited with naming the dragon until I thought of a good name. The pink is called Baby Steps (because taking little steps is a good way to recover).

 

If for some reason the pink wouldn't breed with the Moonstone, (even though I know they do, but hypothetically) I wouldn't be against getting another cb pink, renaming the new one Baby Steps and the first one something different. If that makes sense it all depends on how attached I am to the name and to the dragon. I'd rename CB dragons a lot quicker than bred ones, probably because I like naming after parents too.

 

I do have a red called Capser, and if I'm going to join the red army project/lineage, I might rename that one to have a military title (Soldier Capser or whatever). I'm still debating if I want to join, though.

 

So no, no definite real examples! Only half ones, haha.

[Confused Cat]

I often rename new dragons a few times to see how a name looks in lineage view, but once I have found one I like, I don't rename them.

 

Exceptions:

 

1. I use frozen hatchlings to reserve names - obviously they get renamed all the time.

 

2. When I stumble upon a Z code from before I joined the Z project, I change the name to make it an official Z dragon. I usually just add the Z' (or only the apostrophe if the name already starts with Z), so offspring named after the dragon should not be affected negatively.

 

3. I have added "IB" for "inbred" to some old dragons' names. I probably wouldn't accidentally breed them anyway, but with the name I won't even have to check the lineage.

 

4. When two dragons that are perfectly named for each other refuse and I can rebreed one, I'll probably slightly modify the old dragon's name and give the perfect version to the new dragon.

 

There might be other things that I just can't think of right now. In any case I try to avoid changing an adult dragon's name to something completely different, because:

 

I fear giving them an identity crisis.

[Toyo]

I often rename my dragons, especially if they were used as a placeholder

 

However, if I am renaming a dragon that has had a name for a very long time, I try to check the progeny list to see if any of its offspring went to the AP or elsewhere- if someone has named the offspring something related to my dragon's name, I try not to change the name drastically!

[pinkgothic]

4. When two dragons that are perfectly named for each other refuse and I can rebreed one, I'll probably slightly modify the old dragon's name and give the perfect version to the new dragon.

 

Ah, ah! Yes! I also do this sometimes! I forgot about that.

 

I even have no excuse as to forgetting about it, either, I did something like this recently, to Warm Tribble, whose predecessor, Tepid Tribble, used to have the name 'Warm Tribble' until he refused Cottoned. It's not really "perfectly named for each other", but I really liked the name 'Warm Tribble' for Cottoned's mate, so I didn't want to come up with another one I liked equally much.

[Nectaris]

I really only rename if I misspelled something originally.

[Predat0rs]

I tend to rename dragons a lot, honestly. I find a name I had before dreadful and decide to change it. It happens to me a lot for some reason. My mood I guess.

 

I only change names on dragons that have no offspring. Or have offspring, but only on my account and/or offspring I've abandoned. Gifted or traded offspring I try to not change the parents' names. But sometimes I DO get a serious bug to change their names.

 

I just changed a 2G Shimmer's name to a Skyrim location. It had offspring on others' scrolls. Oh well. Sorry guys if you liked the old name. :/

[rrattts]

I am in the process of re naming all my Male Imps (800+) for a stupid mistake of one letter

 

[Predat0rs]

I am in the process of re naming all my Male Imps (800+) for a stupid mistake of one letter

Oh crap! Sounds fun! *sarcasm*

[MadameZ]

I rename my dragons when I dislike the old name, or I have a name that is plain silly.

 

For example, I had all these silly names for these dragons because I was too lazy to name them. I renamed them after I thought of a proper name.

Edited April 30, 2016 by MadameZ

[Predat0rs]

I rename my dragons when I dislike the old name, or I have a name that is plain silly.

 

For example, I had all these silly names for these dragons because I was too lazy to name them. I renamed them after I thought of a proper name.

I tend to name them silly when I want ALL my dragons named and am too lazy to properly name them!

[Confused Cat]

I just renamed him for a reason I didn't think of before - he was an AP find, I named him after the mother, and I just noticed she was renamed.

 

His mother used to be named "Goldboy" or something similar, so I named the son "A Boy Named Mom" (actually it should have been "A Mom Named Boy", but I was thinking of the song "A boy named Sue").

With her new name, the son's name didn't make sense anymore, so I named him "Magiboy". But he has a child on someone else's scroll named after his previous name....

 

It's complicated.

[Twyro]

Only when I think the original name sounds silly and I don't like it anymore. Or if it's a nameholder.

[Denwayasha]

I've only renamed a few times, because they were names from before we could rename and they were spelled wrong. For example I had a Purple dragon with 'Lilac' in her name, but I'd accidentally spelled it 'Liliac'

 

Or I'll temporarily un-name Zombie fodder on Halloween, since dead dragons keep their names now, and rename the ones that successfully turn.

 

Other than that my dragons have permanent names.

Edited May 4, 2016 by Denwayasha

[Dirtytabs]

Oh man. Remember when names were permanent?

 

 

- If a more "fitting" dragon breed is released. I used to have an ultraviolet named Mega Salamence, but when sapphires were added to DC, I switched the name over.

- If I'm releasing older messy/inbred dragons, but I like the names I gave them.

- During a new release when I'm trying to guess names.

- Zombie fodder get names like "Zomb1", "ZF1", etc. If they don't die or don't turn, they get (sometimes) proper names.

- Sometimes a pair will have names that follow some pattern, and if they refuse, they're either renamed or released.

[Natayah]

I mostly name them things I think are nifty if they are a special dragon or their code is particularly befitting. If the name isn't "super special" and I happened to get a cool "normal name" and I don't want someone else to have it, obviously I'm not also going to add my extra shorthand codes so I know things about the dragons' lineage. And some of that shorthand code has changed over the years. So sometimes they get changed when that changes too.

 

I also don't like my dragons to have "super long this goes on forever unless there is a very rare specific reason" type names. I like to try to keep them to SOME limit. So I might have to shorten various names if I just cannot stand how long its gotten.

 

Usually I try not to change something that babies have had name changes, but If I want to for some reason, so sorry, that's the breaks. But I don't participate in breeding projects either. And I've never traded on the condition I keep names something like "short and never change and never have numbers" or something. And I don't think I would unless it was some really super nice trade.

 

Slight Tangent: I really hate having to constantly update custom sort and gave up on it. I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't be better to use my dragon names to force my dragons in the order I want them by "sorting" by names. But then what do I do about my dragons that have those awesome names I don't ever want to change and never want anyone else to have because it was "meant" for that dragon. (Like my awesome Sweetling with the Code "Elick" whom I named... "Elick". If I freed that up, I know someone else would take it at least the offspring). Then I would have to sort all those too. But then again, maybe it would be worth it... I'll have to think about that. And if I do decide to go that way... well, all the names would change again on most of my dragons. Except those "special" ones. Those never change.

 

But really I'm hoping we get a better sort option before that would become tempting and I've just given up on the whole sorting to have a cool looking scroll thing and don't really care so much so ... I think I'll be ok. /slight tangent

 

But I do place holder names plenty too. So obviously those change. I throw lots of crazy names on CB dragons I don't actively use for anything special. If you got one of their offspring due to some breeding event ... so sorry, no offense, but it was destined for another "special" dragon. It's not my fault that dragon wasn't special enough on its own....

 

And if someone offered me a really tempting trade on some name I had... then bye bye name too. I don't think I have anything that anyone would really ever want besides me, but you never know. And to me, most everything has a price in DC. No offense dragon. You can be called a variation of that. When I describe my dragons, I usually give them some nickname or variation of it. Or if I put the full name in the description, they get a shorter version of it for the rest of the story.

 

To me, I might name a dragon Sir Billy Joe Bob of the Sprinkling Meadows" for some scroll or organizational tracking type reason, but I wouldn't use that when I speak or call upon or refer to the dragon. I would call it by its "true" name, which would be more of a nickname, like Billy. Or BJB or something. So if I needed to change the name, It could become, Lord William Joseph Robert, but the nickname could still be Billy. Or if it was BJB, I could just call it "By Jolly Billy" I think the dragon knows its "true" name. What I write on the scroll makes no difference to the dragon. Unless its insulting like "Lord Poppyhead Refusal". But then the dragon either deserves it or it knows why that name is there.

 

And obviously zombie fodder gets temp names. I hate that I can't change the name of dead dragons. I will never make that mistake again after my first year. Still Grrr!

 

/essay

Edited May 5, 2016 by natayah

[Aqub]

I barely ever rename dragons. The only times I've done it were when a name I used upset my friend because well... my friend gets upset by really weird things sometimes? (The name was something like Prideful Cat I think.) The other time I named a dragon as a vent saying that I was depressed and lonely and I changed that later on. Its name is I Used To Be Emo now.

 

Those are the only times, not counting when I've named hatchlings notes about things I need to do in DC or named dragons that are going to be used in a lineage project in a way that I can organize them and build the lineage easily, then add their intended names once the lineage is done.

 

 

 

[Fuzzbucket]

I just remembered the one circumstance I have actually renamed a few. I hopefully call my nebbie hatchies something like "BeeGreen" - and sometimes when they didn't be green, I have renamed them to something else, like "Didn't BeeGreen"

[pinkgothic]

I just remembered the one circumstance I have actually renamed a few. I hopefully call my nebbie hatchies something like "BeeGreen" - and sometimes when they didn't be green, I have renamed them to something else, like "Didn't BeeGreen"

Somehow, I feel like I might know exactly what you mean... but why, I wonder? Such a mysterious feeling.

Edited May 5, 2016 by pinkgothic

[Ayelldee]

Yeah - https://dragcave.net/lineage/2EBf3

I - https://dragcave.net/lineage/bQkdc

really - https://dragcave.net/lineage/po0Rn

know - https://dragcave.net/lineage/hc7Xh

what - https://dragcave.net/lineage/225C7

you - https://dragcave.net/lineage/7b9H5

mean - https://dragcave.net/lineage/GrAo4

 

My hon, Oddsoxdi has a whole pile of mis-colored Nebs that she calls 'Erkjays' and 'Opoohs'.

 

[Cinspawn]

Hahaha, those Nebs are great.

 

Today I renamed a dragon to make its name longer, because all dragons in the lineage have a long name except she didn't. So I made it fit. I guess that's another reason one could rename