[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #39123: Allow usernames to be changed by administrators

[WordPress Trac]

#39123: Allow usernames to be changed by administrators
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 Reporter:  johnbillion  |      Owner:
     Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |  Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Users        |    Version:
 Severity:  normal       |   Keywords:  needs-patch needs-unit-tests 2nd-
  Focuses:               |  opinion
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 Usernames cannot be changed. I'd like to propose that users who have the
 `edit_users` capability (administrators on single site installations, and
 super admins on multisite installations) are given the ability to update a
 user's username from their profile editing screen.

 The historical reason for disallowing changes to usernames is not clear,
 but it's most likely related to the generation of the `user_nicename`
 field which ideally needs to remain persistent so author archives don't
 404.

 However, this can be addressed in the same way as changes to post slugs,
 where a user's old usernames and nicenames are recorded in usermeta when
 their username is updated (and their nicename is regenerated) and a
 canonical redirect can kick in to redirect to the new author archive URL.

 Any other considerations to make if usernames are allowed to be changed by
 administrators?

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/39123>
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