Yes, just use this link and fill in your friend's email address. They will be able to choose their own handle once they register. The invitation will include your MetaFilter username and a link to your member profile so they know who gave them the gift.
(tags: metafilter gift accounts paypal ) November 16, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

There is no official way to get an account without using PayPal. You can contact Jessamyn if you want to try to work out alternate account payment arrangements.
(tags: paypal membership privacy ) December 26, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

When you start the sign up process, your username is reserved. If you don't finish signing up for some reason, the username is still reserved. If you come back to try to sign up again, you'll find the username is already taken. But it's taken by you! To fix this, just try to log in to the site with the username you've chosen and you should be prompted to go through the remainder of the sign up process. If not, just contact us and we'll see if we can figure out what's going on.
(tags: username paypal ) September 23, 2010 - permalink - back to questions