Chat gives me notifications intended for other user

Question

Whenever someone puts @Mike in chat it triggers a notification for me (@MikeB).

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Any message including @Mike seems to notify him (correct) and me as well (incorrect). From reading this answer wouldn't 'Mike' be considered a perfect match and NOT notify me?

The only time "@marc" will generate a notification for you is when we can't find anyone else who we consider to be a better match, i.e. someone called "Marc" who was in the room during the past seven days, or someone called "Marc Gravell" who was here in the past two days.

I've also received items in my inbox intended for Mike (I'm 95% sure I WAS NOT in the chat room at the time these messages were sent):

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Mike's profile and MikeB's profile.

I've also read What are the rules for when chat messages appear in a user's inbox?.

What are the solutions in my case since Mike doesn't have a last name on his profile. Am I forced to use another first-name entirely to avoid getting his mail?

• Aaron Bertrand: Well wouldn't changing to a different first name just get you someone else's e-mail? You might consider changing your username to last name first initial or some combination that is less likely to be a partial match. I'm not saying that's a solution, but a workaround in the meantime.
• Lorem Ipsum: What you didn't get from that answer, was that Marc Gravell hardcoded "marc" in the exclusions list ;)
• Josh Darnell: Wouldn't point #2 in the answer you linked to on SciFi's meta indicate that your notification's are correct? "...a word boundary match) will cause a notification if you've been in the room in the past two days." "Mike" is a word boundary match for your username.
• Mike B: @jadarnel27 Yeah, I was getting hung up on the 'perfect match' logic. Ultimately it looks like anyone that whose name matches '^Mike\s?' will be notified and my only recourse it to break that pattern.

Answer 1

This is happening as intended. You found the correct quote:

The only time "@marc" will generate a notification for you is when we can't find anyone else who we consider to be a better match, i.e. someone called "Marc" who was in the room during the past seven days, or someone called "Marc Gravell" who was here in the past two days.

– but the important detail here is: The user in that case (the one who posted the question and this quote is replying to) is called marcog.

With your user name being "Mike B", and you having been in the room recently (as you found, the threshold is two days), we cannot be sure someone isn't replying to you when they say "Mike". If you were "MikeB" (without the space), then you would be the "marcog" example.

• Mike B: How is a 'perfect match' determined? Is getting a perfect match on Mike impossible in this case? Or only when the room is 'aware' of my (Or anyone whose name begins with 'Mike\s') existence?
• Josh Darnell: @MikeB The only way for a "perfect match" for Mike, in this case, would be for people to use explicit replies (via the UI button).
• avpaderno: The username is Mike; I don't read marcog.
• balpha: @MikeB I don't understand. "MarcB" is a perfect match for the user "Marc B". "Marc" is a perfect match for the user "Marc".
• balpha: @kiamlaluno In case that wasn't a joke, we're talking about this one.
• Mike B: I was reading your two posts and was trying to figure out how to invoke the 'perfect match' logic so it doesn't start fuzzy-searching for other possible matches. @jadarnel27 pointed out the only way to get a perfect match is by using the UI.
• balpha: @MikeB What precisely do you consider a "perfect match"? I assumed we were talking about the same thing (because our code uses the precise term), but I'm not sure that word is actually used elsewere here on Meta. Anyway, if you've been in the room in the past two days, @Mike will always notify you.
• avpaderno: I get it: "In that case" means in this question. I was confused about the OP talking of Mike, not marcog.