What is in a username? «

For the last couple of months I've been subscribed to an internet dating site, and I've recently discovered an interesting quirk that adds a whole new dimension when browsing for potential dates.

When you first register on the site you are asked to provide a username, which is the name other people see when they view your profile. Usernames seem to range from the functional, such as 'JaneSmith74', to the whimsical, like 'SmileySquirrel'.

It's sometimes fun to try to guess what people's profiles will be like based on their username, but something that I only noticed over the weekend is that if you go to one of the site's summary pages — for instance the page that lists everyone who's added you as a 'favourite' — long usernames get truncated so they can be displayed in the compact, two-column layout.

Specifically, any username over 12 characters long gets chopped off, so for example, 'SmileySquirrel' becomes 'SmileySquirr...'. In most cases this is fine, but for a few unlucky subscribers the shortened form gives their profile a whole new slant.

Once I'd worked this out, I spent a couple of happy hours on Saturday trawling the site for the usernames that suffer most cruelly from being cut off in their prime.

So, here is my top ten list of female subscribers who might want to seriously consider changing their usernames or risk attracting entirely the wrong kind of attention, or indeed no attention at all:

1. iwillblowyoursocksoff
2. must_luv_poodles
3. HelpDoMyButtonsUp
4. RestlessWombat
5. I_Love_Cracker_Jokes
6. CouldItBeFate
7. CinnamonMuffin
8. Might_Be_Made_For_You
9. AmyLikesCocktails
10. FaithfulMongrel