The OTW asks that all volunteers use the same name in all places within organization-wide tools.

Choosing a Permitted Name

In order for Volunteers & Recruiting to create accounts on all OTW tools for you using your OTW name, there are restrictions on what types of characters are permitted for use in OTW names.

• Names must be at least two characters long.
• Names can only contain alphanumeric characters from the Latin alphabet (A-Z and 0-9).
• Names must include at least one letter. Names that only include numbers are not permitted.
• Characters from other alphabets are not permitted.
• Diacritics on Latin characters are permitted. However, please note that some tools may not be equipped to handle diacritics on usernames, and so substitutions may still occur.
• Special characters are not permitted. This includes asterisks, slashes, periods, commas, parentheses, underscores, etc.
• Hyphens are permitted in names. However, please be aware that any hyphens in your OTW name may be omitted from your username on certain software tools as permitted by that software.

Please note that these guidelines were formalized in October 2025. Volunteers who joined the organization prior to that time may retain their OTW names if they adhered to the previous guidelines.

Choosing a Unique Name

To avoid confusion, we require that the name for each volunteer be unique. If the name you choose has already been used by a current or former volunteer, we will ask you to modify your choice to make it unique. This includes:

• Duplicate names: Two volunteers cannot have the exact same name.
• Ambiguous names: If two volunteers have the same short name, then the incoming volunteer must disambiguate it. For example, if there is already a volunteer Bliss Joy, then a new volunteer wanting to use the name Bliss must add an initial, number, or additional word to it.
• Names that include an OTW Committee name in them are not allowed.

Connections Between Names

You can choose to use your fannish name, your legal name, or a completely different name altogether for OTW purposes, but bear in mind that the name you choose will be how you are known for your work within the OTW. Furthermore, depending on the position(s) you hold, your name may be publicly used in some places to refer to you or your work. If you are not comfortable using a specific name, such as your fannish or legal name, in connection with your OTW volunteering in public spaces online, it is best to use a new name for OTW work.

Depending on your role, it may be possible for your work to be publicly credited under a different name than your OTW name in order to protect your privacy. For example, you may be able to use a different name to sign comments on OTW news posts or be credited in AO3 release notes for your contributions. Your chair(s) can answer any questions about whether you will be required to use your OTW name in public spaces where your work is credited.

On the other hand, if you would like to cite your OTW work on your resume or otherwise link your OTW work to your legal name, it may be best to choose your legal name. However, even if you choose a fannish name, you can still ask Volunteers & Recruiting and/or your chair(s) to verify your service in a reference letter as long as you are comfortable with linking your fannish OTW name to your legal name in their private records.

If you are applying to be a Tag Wrangling volunteer, it is permitted for your OTW name to be different from your AO3 account name. However, please be aware that your OTW name will be associated with your AO3 name within the Organization in the course of your wrangling work. If at any time after you are accepted as a Tag Wrangler you decide that you would prefer not to have your current AO3 account name connected to your OTW service, you may request a new AO3 account specifically for use with your wrangling work.