Why the 8-character callsign limit, with no dashes or underscores?

[Fulcrum]

had to use my Braille keyboard to type lol

semp

Sorry dude.  I'm sure those retnas will heal....eventually.   

Now I don't know about you guys, but personally I find that type of thing stupid and immature, rather than funny. Certainly not the type of player I want to interact with.

Agreed.  There are less offensive ways to be stupid and immature and I'm all for them.   

[phatzo]

I guarantee, we would end up with some bellybutton using

8====D---
or
( . )( . )

as his callsign.



Now I don't know about you guys, but personally I find that type of thing stupid and immature, rather than funny. Certainly not the type of player I want to interact with.

It's this ( . Y . ) doofus

[hotcoffe]

call sign prank...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWZLa4AnN5k

[mbailey]

It's this ( . Y . ) doofus

Actually Tankace is correct also......his is just representative of a bad boob job.   

[Scca]

Nobody wants to yell "check six aviatordave"

And most won't regardless of the length allowed. 

I get called everything from "AK", "Meat head", but most often it's just "Meat"...  Oddly, I somehow know they are talking about me

That being said, I think the icon size is the most likely limiting factor, but maybe it might be okay to squeeze in two more without being overwhelming.

[Arlo]

List of aviators by nickname
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (edited for six characters ans post WWII fighter [some bomber] pilots)

A

    "Aggy" – Noel Agazarian, British, Battle of Britain ace

B

    "Bam" – C. S. Bamberger, British RAF World War II pilot
    "Barron" – John Worrall, British World War II RAF pilot
    "Beazle" – Hugh John Beazley, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Bee" – Roland Beamont, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Bert" – Albert Houle, Canadian fighter ace
    "Beryl" – John Greer Boyle, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "BigJoe" - Joe McCarthy 617 Squadron pilot
    "Bing" – K. B. B. Cross, British World War II RAF pilot
    "Bish" – John Bislee, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Bomber" – Arthur Harris, British commander of RAF Bomber Command (Air Chief Marshal) during World War II[3]
    "Boy" - Geoffrey Wellum, British World War II fighter pilot [5]
    "Bubi" (German, "young boy", "kid") —
        Erich Hartmann, German fighter ace[2]
        Alfred Schreiber, German first jet ace[7]
    "Buck"
        Robert McNair, Canadian fighter ace
        Lionel Casson, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Bud"
        Harold W. Bowker, Canadian fighter ace
        George E. Day, American POW
    "Bugs" – John Keating, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Bunny" – Christopher Currant
    "Butch" –
        Henry Baker, Battle of Britain Pilot
        Robert Barton, Canadian fighter ace and Battle of Britain Pilot
        Arthur T. Harris, British commander of RAF Bomber Command (Air Chief Marshal) during World War II (from "butcher"; affectionately given by his men)
        Edward O'Hare, American WWII fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient
    "Buzz" –
        Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., American aviator, best known as an astronaut and the second man on the Moon
        George Beurling, Canadian RAF fighter ace (a nickname he never acknowledged)

C

    "Cobber" – Edgar J. Kain, World War II RAF fighter ace
    "Cocky" – Hugh Dundas, British World War II RAF fighter ace[9]
    "Cowboy" – Howard Peter Blatchford, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Crow" – Denis Crowley-Milling, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Cloudy" - Werner Christie, Norwegian fighter ace

D

    "Darkie" – Herbert Hallowes, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Dizzy" – H. R. Allen, RAF fighter ace[11]
    "Dogs" – John Dundas, RAF, Battle of Britain fighter ace[12]
    "Dolfo" – Adolf Galland, German fighter ace
    "Dutch" - Petrus Hugo - South African WW2 pilot

E

    "Elmer" – Lionel Gaunce, Battle of Britain Pilot

G

    "Gabby" – Francis Gabreski, American Army Air Force fighter ace
    "Gilly" – John Gilders, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Ginger" – James Lacey, British fighter ace

H

    "Hamish" – Claud Hamilton, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Haybag" – Douglas Haywood, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Henry" – Roy Ford, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Hilly" – Mark Henry Brown, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Hogey" – Peter Carmichael, British fighter pilot

I

    "Igo" – Ignaz Etrich, Austrian aviator and aircraft builder

J

    "Jack" - John Frost, South African Air Force pilot
    "Jimmy" – John S. Thach, American Navy fighter ace
    "Johnny" – W. E. P. Johnson, British RAF flight instructor
    "Jumbo" – Edward Gracie, Battle of Britain Pilot

K

    "Kanga" - John 'Jack' Kurtzer, Australian RAAF Lancaster Bomber Pilot Nicknamed for his tendency to bounce his Lancaster upon landing.
    "Killer" – Clive Caldwell, Australian RAAF flying ace
    "Killy" – John Kilmartin, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Kinch" – Iven Kincheloe, American test pilot

L

    "Lofty" – Russel Hamer, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Libby" - Sψren Liby, Norwegian WW2 pilot.

M

    "Mindy" – Minden Blake, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Mitzi" – Edward Darling, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Moose" – Robert Fumerton, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Mouse" – Gordon Cleaver, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Mutt" – Joseph Summers, British test pilot

N

(none)

O

    "OV" – Owen Burns, Battle of Britain Pilot

P

    "Paddy"
        Hubert Adair, Battle of Britain pilot
        Brendan Finucane, Irish World War II RAF fighter ace
        W. H. Harbison, British RAF officer
    "Pappy" –
        Greg Boyington, American World War II U.S. Marine Corps fighter ace[17]
        Paul Gunn, American World War II Army Air Force bomber pilot
        Charles Yankey, co-founder of Mooney
    "Pete" – Marc Mitscher, American World War II carrier admiral[18]
    "Polly" – John Flinders, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Pritzl" – Heinz Bδr, German fighter ace, because of his affection for Pritzl candy bars.
    "Punch" – Clennell H. Dickins, Canadian pioneer bush pilot
    "Pyker" – Jean Offenberg, Battle of Britain pilot

Q

(none)

R

    "Randy" – George Goodman, Battle of Britain Pilot
    "Ratsy" – George Preddy, top P-51 Mustang ace with 26.83 aerial victories
    "Red" – Eugene Tobin, American who flew with the RAF during the Battle of Britain
    "Reeste" – Heinz Bδr, German fighter ace
    "Robin" – Hilary Hood, Battle of Britain Pilot

S

    "Sailor" – Adolph Malan, South African RAF fighter ace[19]
    "Sandy" – Brian Lane, RAF Battle of Britain pilot, Squadron Leader and fighter ace
    "Sheep" – George Gilroy, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Shorty" – Vernon Keogh, American who flew with the RAF during the Battle of Britain, so-named for diminutive height[20]
    "Skeets" – Alfred Keith Ogilvie, Battle of Britain pilot and participant in the Great Escape. Short for "Skeeter"
    "Skip" – Jean Ziegler, American test pilot on Bell X-1 program
    "Slew"" – John S. McCain, Sr., American naval aviator and chief of Bureau of Aeronautics
    "Spanky" – George Roberts, American commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron (Tuskegee Airmen)[21]
    "Spig" – Frank W. Wead, U.S. Navy aviator and screenwriter
    "Spud" – James Hayter, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Spuds" – Theodore Ellyson, pioneer U.S. Navy aviator
    "Stan" – Roderic Dallas, top Australian fighter ace of World War I
    "Stapme" – Gerald Stapleton, British Battle of Britain fighter ace
    "Sticks" – William Gregory, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Sticky" – Norman Glew, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Stuffy" – Sir Hugh Dowding, British commander of RAF Fighter Command from before the war into the Battle of Britain[19]

T

    "Taffy" –
        Fredrick Higginson, Battle of Britain pilot
        Trafford Leigh-Mallory, British Group commander during Battle of Britain and head of Fighter Command from 1942
    "Tage" – Dennis Lockhart, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Tex" – David L. Hill, American fighter pilot
    "Tim" – John Elkington, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Titch" – George Palliser, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Tubby" – Herbert Mermegan, Battle of Britain pilot
    "Winkle" – Eric Brown, British naval aviator and test pilot

( Demonator666 doesn't know what cool is.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGp4DvFEgh8