RE: How do V1 Tags work?
A lot of people are wrong and miss minor / major details. Their was never a "glitch" Microsoft just updated their system and got rid of being able to make different versions of the same name. Before you say it was a glitch in 2011, look at the gamertag Boy. Their is 2 v1's as well as a version created in 2011. The majority of these "spaced" names / OG's were created in 2011 when OG's blew up. OG's have always been around, but never got "known" until Halo 3 came out in 2007. The dopest tags were owned by people like Unknownv2, Wolf, AK, Dean etc. A spaced gamertag works like this, after the update in 2011, Swag is technically the same name as S W A G, S wa G, or any other spaced variant therefore if 2 versions of the same name exist when one is changed the person that changed their name can't remake it because the other version still exists. So even if S w a g doesn't exist yet, but their is another variant like SWA g, you can't make it because technically it is the "same" thing. Now this goes for the same thing as unspaced, unspaced is technically the same as spaced out. The v1 "b Y" existed in 2011, but the word "BY" never existed so my friend's friend was able to make it. Now the v1 R6 existed but R 6 never existed so my irl was able to make R 6 back in the day. The last major tag reset was in 2011 when the majority of 7 and 8 letter gamertags reset such as Pegasus, Citizen, and Daughter but other gamertags also reset such as Cat. Their are many pro's and con's of having a spaced gamertag. A pro is if the unspaced or spaced version of your tag resets, only YOU can take that version because you have that spaced / unspaced variant. A major Con is if you want it capped a certain way like you want SWAG as Swag you can't because another variant exists so you can't swap your gamertag (Change it and quickly claim it again) until the other variant resets. Tags usually reset every 8 years of inactivity due to that long timeframe MS (Microsoft) doesn't believe the owner will be coming back so they will delete these (Zombie tags (It's a play on words, the tag is so inactive it's "dead")) although i learned a nice piece of information from a microsoft informant last year. Tags may reset, but their data (such as billing or CC on file) may not get purged from the system right away. The tag will say it's not taken, but it's not available (deleted) because it is in a state called "Limbo". It's called Limbo because it's inbetween the state of being deleted and recycled (When i say recycled i mean available for use again). Gamertags are chosen by a computer based on meeting a certain criteria, and are recycled / purged back into the system by hand. That is why it could take anywhere from 1 minute to 10 years to be able to be made again. I hope i helped with all the information i have shared with you.