Hello, I recently learned that there is a pet out there with a legacy name that I would love to have and It belongs to an inactive account. Should I just message them, then hope and pray they respond despite being inactive? What exactly does it mean for an account to be inactive? Is the account forfeit, or just the account name?

this is a good question. If a pet has a legacy name in the age of non-unique names nowadays, does it get renamed-legacy-named anymore if the account is inactive?

If you're asking if someone else gets the legacy name, the answer is no. Legacy names are permanent, inactive account or not.

I'm sorry the legacy name is on an account that is inactive, but I would not advise smailing them to ask for the pet. In my experience, both as an adopter and an adoptee, that usually irritates the person who owns the pet and can be seen akin to begging. It's one of the best ways to ensure you'd never get the pet.

Your best bet at the moment is to hope that they come back and decide to put that pet up for adoption. Or let go of the need for a legacy name and just create/rename a pet with the name you desire. I know neither option is ideal, and I sympathize. I've had my share of disappointment.

[Edit]To answer your other question:

An account is never forfeit unless it gets permanently frozen by admin. An account is "inactive" if a person hasn't been on for at least a year. It used to be when that happened, both their username and pet names would be up for grabs. Now, only the username is up for grabs. The person can come back and reactivate their account at any time simply by logging in.

Now with the pet name changes, if an account is inactive, it means someone can take the user name, but not the pet names. Unfortunately, there's no way for you to get the legacy name unless the person comes back and gives the pet to you.

Awh, man. That legacy name was perfect, I'll just keep my eye on them for a while I suppose- I'll likely just move on from it so I can get this story and corresponding pet made! Thank you for the responses.