Can I request a gamer tag that is currently used but has been inactive for years?

It's not possible to request a gamertag or to find out exactly how inactive an account is. Since accounts can be used on other Microsoft services, it could be in use elsewhere.

Damn it. The account has been inactive for at least 8 years.

When does Microsoft deem an account inactive long enough to warrant that "purge" of inactive gamer tags?

You have posted this before.

Gamer tags are not case sensitive or space sensitive. Once a tag has been flagged as used there is a 5 year delay once the account goes inactive before it can be released. This is done in batches.

MyGamerTag

My gamer Tag

mygamertag

all those are flagged as the same tag.

gamer tag may have been used on the original Xbox - and has never been ported over to xbox 360 - but MS did release all these inactive tags a few years ago and people snatched them up and are saving them for a later date.

i lost one of my tags due to this.

Hello there oOI BUMBUM IOo When an Xbox live member chooses an Xbox gamer-tag, they have the full rights to keep that gamer-tag even know if they have been inactive for years along with no gamer-score & no gold membership,
you will not be able to request for the gamer-tag to be forced changed. The owner of the gamer-tag must change it himself or when a forced gamer tag change is imposed due to the gamer-tag violated the code of conduct in any sort of way, if the gamer tag you
enter is already taken, you are prompted to try another gamer tag Also try to remember that gamer-tags are also tied to services like Zune or games for windows live. If a gt doesn't exist on Xbox or has already been taken, it might be in use on one of those
Additional services like gfwl.