Went to review the Senn’s I have and it said the nickname I wanted to use was taken by another reviewer? That seems a little strange - I wouldn’t want my name here confused with someone else on the CHOICE site …
In my previous incarnation it was theoretically possible for a few people to register with TheBBG so when I registered on the main Choice site to review a product I was surprised but not worried the nickname was already taken.
It would not surprise me if there is a link between the Choice and Community repositories where they are different yet dependent in that there was originally an intention for a single user database for Choice and Community, that got altered in the earliest days so the registration databases are distinctly separate, but the code cross-checking (?) for an existing name did not get removed.
Your report is worthy site feedback deserving an explanation from Choice, so I’ll move the curiosity there.
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At the moment, the system we use for reviews on the website is a different one to the forum, which means the potential for duplicate username and the annoyance of an additional password. We understand this causes some frustration, so my apologies to anyone who this has affected.
The issue has been considered in the past and weighed alongside a range of tech development priorities, including things like upgrades to our main website. I know that some form of merging the two systems is still actively being planned, so I’m confident this will be fixed at some point in the future. A limited number of staff have the ability to view profile information for the purposes of moderation, so in the event the duplicate ‘draughtrider’ was causing trouble, it would be clear who was taking the action and could be handled appropriately. That’s not a total solution but hopefully it provides some comfort. Perhaps we can put together some type of Community verified reviewer status in the future to better link the two.
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I presumed you tried to use draughtrider on the comments system, as I once tried to use TheBBG, and both were rejected as already taken, is that correct?
…so that suggests people are trolling through the Community and registering our nicknames but not always or ever using them? or do I misunderstand your response?
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I can’t be sure of the motivations for choosing the names for reviews on the site, but if anyone is trolling in this way, we will take appropriate remedial action.
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Seems to me this is very misleading - the text on the review says “members of the CHOICE community” - so if someone follows the link below, it would be completely reasonable for them to deduce that someone leaving a review with the same nickname as someone in the community were indeed the same person …
Even if someone isn’t trolling - whatever the person on the CHOICE site is saying about whatever product they are saying it about isn’t necessarily what I’d be saying about said product 
… across organisational boundaries is one thing, but within an organisation probably not so …
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I agree with what you’re saying, and thanks for raising it. It’s very useful for me to be able to take this feedback to my colleagues for consideration 
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Notwithstanding that as Choice projects evolved, the ‘Choice community’ does not mean the ‘Choice Community’.
FWIW Choice has replied on multiple occasions the comments has problems (to be kind) but nothing visible has been done since. A more recent exchange concludes with ‘…there are a few issues with the comments section on the website…’
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Why would you do this?! I chose a completely different user name on the main site - I do not want anyone to confuse my views here and my views there. (Not that they are incompatible, just that I’m paranoid.)
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Maybe because I am less paranoid and my credibility (or lack thereof) may lend credence to my opinions.
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My views are my views, no matter the site … hehehe
I like to think of my opinions as a clearwater revival, but others may differ 
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