Quote - ...Now, if the username is used as a key in other database tables as jevans69 suggests, then the programmers should be reprimanded.  Also, if the username is stored in more than one place (gallery,store, freestuff, etc.), then this site is pretty poorly designed to begin with.

I'd certainly agree that it wouldn't be a good idea for building a business application from scratch. I make a habit of using GUID's for primary keys in all my tables. It's a little slower to do JOIN's but it's awfully nice having a unique key for every single row in every single table.

However, if memory serves, R'osity didn't start out as a business, it was more like somebody's hobby in the 90's. I can pretty easily imagine someone starting out a little web site and not seeing far enough into the future to visualize the size the database would grow to and what it's needs might be as a business tool on down the road.

The current programmers almost certainly inherited the current situation (and haven't we all be there at one time or another) and may be making do as best they can.