Why do I get a "Sorry, you can't use that username" error while creating an account?

For a username to be valid, it must only contain characters a-z, 0-9, and underscores. Usernames can't start or end with underscores, and can't have more than one underscore in a row.

If your username meets all those restrictions and you still get an error message when you're creating an account, it's because you've tried to use a reserved username. We have reserved a number of usernames for future use by site admins, or to prevent confusion or impersonation of site admin functions. You also can't register any username that starts with "dw_", because we use those usernames for official communities such as dw_news. There are also a number of words we have added to the restricted usernames list because they're often used by spammers.

If you think a username you want to use is being restricted and it shouldn't be, you can email support@dreamwidth.org and let us know the username you're trying to register.