I recently received an email from AT&T/ SBC informing me my username must be changed to conform to their new standards. After reading their requirements, I was perplexed. My username met their criteria. After four days and 10 emails going back and forth, I got a phone call from AT&T.

"You have a problem. Part of your username (which is basically my last name) is on the banned words list (profanity, etc.). Your last name contains the letters K + I + L + L. And we all know that 'kill' is a bad word."

When I asked for a list of the banned words as part of a user name, I was told it was a secret. I thought it was a nightmare, I would wake up and it would all be over. But alas, my name is banned as are the Lakes of Killarney and anyone that is skilled. The agent told me they were having this "banned words" problem with more than a small number of customers.