Someone else has the user ID I want. What can I do?

With over 2.5 million user accounts, it's inevitable that more than one person will want to use the same Launchpad user id.

Launchpad's default policy is "first come, first served". The Launchpad team generally does not intervene in user ID disputes (unless there's clear, malicious impersonation going on). However:

If the Launchpad user id you want is already in use, first contact that person through their Launchpad profile page and ask them for it. If they're not really using it, they may just give it to you.

If you get no response, the Launchpad team may be willing to shift the account to you, provided the other user is completely inactive (has a blank profile page, doesn't log in, etc) and you are active. See https://help.launchpad.net/Feedback to contact the Launchpad team.